Apparatus and method for providing transaction history information, account history information, and/or charge-back information

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method, including receiving information regarding an individual and information involving an account involved in a transaction, wherein the information regarding the individual is received by a receiver prior to a processing, a completion, a consummation, or a cancellation, of the transaction, processing the information regarding the individual with a processing device, generating a report or a message in response to the processing of the information regarding the individual, wherein the report or the message contains information regarding a charge-back regarding a previous transaction involving the individual, and transmitting the report or the message to a communication device associated with a merchant, vendor, or provider, of a good, product, or service.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/283,838, filed Sep. 16, 2008 now U.S. Pat. No.7,661,585, and entitled “APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING TRANSACTIONHISTORY INFORMATION, ACCOUNT HISTORY INFORMATION, AND/OR CHARGE-BACKINFORMATION”, which application is a continuation application of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/045,080, filed Jan. 15, 2002, andentitled “APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING TRANSACTION HISTORYINFORMATION, ACCOUNT HISTORY INFORMATION, AND/OR CHARGE-BACKINFORMATION”, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,529,698, the subject matter of whichapplications is hereby incorporated by reference herein. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/045,080, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,529,698, claims thebenefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.60/262,167, filed Jan. 16, 2001, and entitled “APPARATUS AND METHOD FORPROVIDING TRANSACTION HISTORY INFORMATION, ACCOUNT HISTORY INFORMATION,AND/OR CHARGE-BACK INFORMATION”, the subject matter of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to an apparatus and method for providingtransaction history information, account history information, and/orcharge-back information and, in particular, to an apparatus and methodfor providing transaction history information, account historyinformation, and/or charge-back information, or individual information,which can be utilized by a merchant or vendor in processing atransaction in order to prevent and/or in order to reduce the incidenceof any one or more of credit card fraud, credit account fraud, chargecard fraud, charge account fraud, debit card fraud, debit account fraud,and/or cyber-shoplifting.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Merchants, vendors, or providers, of goods, products, or services, losemillions of dollars each year as the result of non-payment of theirreceivables. Non-payment of receivables can result from credit cardfraud, charge card fraud, debit card fraud, cyber-shoplifting,charge-backs, bank fraud, check fraud, the stopping of issued checks,checks returned for insufficient funds, and other causes or activities.

Merchants, vendors, or providers, of goods, services, or products, havelong experienced credit card fraud, charge card fraud, debit card fraud,cyber-shoplifting (such as when individuals deny making an on-line ornon-face-to-face transaction involving credit cards, charge cards, debitcards, or any other advancement of credit), charge-backs (which occurwhen a credit, charge, or debt, services issuing entity or bank forcesthe merchant, vendor, or provider, to pay back funds paid thereto alongwith possibly imposing charge-back fees), bank fraud, check fraud, thestopping of issued checks, checks returned for insufficient funds, andother activities.

With the tremendous increase in telephone-based transactions as well ason-line transactions, such as those occurring on, or over, the Internetand/or the World Wide Web, risks of non-payment have become evengreater. These non-payment risks have resulted from the non-face-to-facenature of telephone or on-line transactions which involve credit cards,charge cards, debit cards, or their respective accounts, which do notallow merchants, vendors, or providers, the opportunity to verify and/orotherwise ensure that they are entering into transactions with the trueaccount holder or account owner.

As a result, many merchants, vendors, or providers, are having theircharges or receivables challenged, disputed, and/or denied, by dishonestindividuals. This has resulted in charge-backs to the merchants,vendors, or providers, which entail having a bank or issuer associatedwith the account holder's or the account owner's account impose a returnof funds. Other fees may also be imposed on the respective merchants,vendors, or providers.

As a result, the respective merchants, vendors, or providers, can losein a number of ways. They lose the funds received, they may not have thegoods, products, or services, returned, they may be charged charge-backfees, and/or they can experience opportunity costs (i.e. expendedemployee time and/or company resources) in dealing with the disputedcharges.

Activities by dishonest individuals, in ordering a good, product, orservice, only to later deny making the order or deny entering into thetransaction, so as to avoid payment, while not returning the respectivegoods, products, or services, has come to be known as“cyber-shoplifting” and can cost merchants, vendors, or providers,millions of dollars annually. Losses which result from these and otherforms of credit card fraud, charge card fraud, debit card fraud, bankfraud, check fraud, the stopping of issued checks, checks returned forinsufficient funds, and other activities result in even greater lossesto merchants, vendors, or providers.

Losses to merchants, vendors, providers, any of their banks, any oftheir respective vendors or providers, and/or any of their insurers, ifapplicable, in the long run, can ultimately get passed on to, and can beshared by, all of us.

No system or method exists which can provide the means for allowingmerchants, vendors, or providers, to protect themselves from losses orrisks of losses which can result from credit card fraud, charge cardfraud, debit card fraud, cyber-shoplifting, charge-backs, bank fraud,check fraud, the stopping of issued checks, checks returned forinsufficient funds, and other activities.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention pertains to an apparatus and method for providingtransaction history information, account history information, and/orcharge-back information, or individual information, which overcomes theshortfalls of the prior art.

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for providingtransaction history information, account history information, and/orcharge-back information, or individual information, which can beutilized by a merchant, vendor, or other entity, in processing, and/orin assessing the processing of, a transaction in order to prevent and/orin order to reduce the incidence of any one or more of credit cardfraud, credit account fraud, charge card fraud, charge account fraud,debit card fraud, debit account fraud, check fraud, checking accountfraud, and/or cyber-shoplifting.

The present invention can be utilized in order to process informationregarding fraudulent use of any one or more of credit cards, creditaccounts, charge cards, charge accounts, debit cards, debit accounts,electronic money accounts, checks, or checking accounts. The presentinvention can also be utilized in order to process information regardingchecks returned due to insufficient funds, checks for which stop paymentorders have been made, disputes and/or denial of payment assertions madein conjunction with any one or more of credit cards, credit accounts,charge cards, charge accounts, debit cards, debit accounts, electronicmoney accounts, checks, or checking accounts.

The present invention can also process information regarding pastdenials of liability or responsibility regarding a transaction, pastcharge-back activity involving any one or more of a credit card, acredit account, a charge card, a charge account, a debit card, a debitaccount, or a checking account.

The information obtained from the present invention can be utilized by amerchant, a vendor, and/or any other entity, in order to process atransaction, and/or in order to assess whether or not it should fulfillan order relating to a transaction.

The present invention can be utilized in order to perform riskmanagement in transactions involving payment by any or more of creditcards, credit accounts, charge cards, charge accounts, debit cards,debit accounts, electronic money accounts, checks, or checking accounts.The present invention can also be utilized in face-to-face transactions,non-face-to-face transactions, telephone transactions, on-linetransactions, mail order transactions, and/or in any other non-cashtransactions.

The present invention can be utilized in order to provide information atany time during, prior to, and/or subsequent to, a transaction. Thepresent invention can also be utilized by a merchant, vendor, or otherentity, in order to assess an individual's or an entity's pasttransaction history, account history, or charge-back history, orindividual information, in order to determine if the individual orentity has had a history of, or could be a risk in, denying being partyto a transaction involving a credit card, a credit account, a chargecard, a charge account, a debit card, a debit account, or a checkingaccount, disputing a transaction a involving credit card, a creditaccount, a charge card, a charge account, a debit card, a debit account,passing or attempting to pass a bad check, stopping payment of an issuedcheck, and/or in other ways attempting to defraud or otherwise obtaingoods, products, or services, without paying for same, shopping same,and/or cyber-shoplifting same.

The present invention can be utilized in order to allow a merchant,vendor, or provider, of goods, products, and/or services, to processinformation regarding a counterpart or counterparty to a transaction inorder to determine if the counterpart or counterparty could be a risk,could be a credit risk, or might not fulfill payment obligationsrelating to a transaction.

The present invention can provide transaction history information,account history information, and/or charge-back information, orindividual information, any one or more of during a transaction, duringa transaction authorization process, subsequent to a transaction,subsequent to a transaction authorization process, prior to an orderfulfillment process, and/or during an order fulfillment process.

The present invention can also process information received, concerningany of the herein-described individuals or entities, from any one ofmore of credit card issuers, credit account administrators, charge cardissuers, charge account administrators, debit card issuers, debitaccount administrators, electronic money account administrators,checking account administrators, and/or any banks and/or financialinstitutions and/or other entities which facilitate, manage, operate,and/or administer, any of the herein-described accounts.

The present invention can process information received, concerning anyindividuals or entities, from any merchants, vendors, and/or providersof goods, products, and/or services, credit agencies, and/or any otherindividual, individuals, entity, and/or entities.

The apparatus includes a central processing computer which can performany of the herein-described processing routines and/or processingoperations, as well as any of the communication operations describedherein as being provided by the present invention.

The central processing computer can service any number of merchants,vendors, and/or providers, and/or any of the accounts with any of theindividuals, account holders, and/or account owners, associated with anyof the herein-described accounts.

The apparatus can also include one or more merchant communicationdevices or computers which can be associated with any of theherein-described merchants, vendors, and/or providers, who or whichutilize the present invention.

The apparatus can also include one or more information providercommunication devices or computers. The information provider computercan be associated with a credit card issuer, a credit accountadministrator, a charge card issuer, a charge account administrator, adebit card issuer, a debit account administrator, an electronic moneyaccount administrator, a checking account administrator, a bank, afinancial institution, any entity which facilitates, manages, operates,and/or administers, any of the herein-described accounts, a merchant, avendor, a provider, a credit rating agency or service, governmental orother entities or agencies, and/or any other entity which can provideinformation regarding any transaction history information, accounthistory information, and/or charge-back information, and/or anyinformation related thereto, or individual information, for, orregarding, any of the individuals or entities described herein asengaging in transactions with any of the herein-described merchants,vendors, and/or providers.

Any number of central processing computers, merchant computers, and/orinformation provider computers, can be utilized in conjunction with thepresent invention.

The central processing computers, the merchant computers, and/or theinformation provider computers, can communicate with, transmitinformation to, and/or receive information from, any other centralprocessing computers, merchant computers, and/or information providercomputers, over any suitable communication network or system, including,but not limited to a telephone network, a telecommunication network, adigital communication network, a satellite communication network, awireless communication network, a personal communication servicesnetwork, a broadband communication network, a bluetooth communicationnetwork, the Internet, the World Wide Web, and/or any othercommunication network and/or system.

The present invention can be utilized on, over, and/or in conjunctionwith, any suitable communication network or system, including, but notlimited to a telephone network, a telecommunication network, a digitalcommunication network, a satellite communication network, a wirelesscommunication network, a personal communication services network, abroadband communication network, a bluetooth communication network, theInternet, the World Wide Web, and/or any other communication networkand/or system.

The present invention can be utilized in order to provide information toa merchant, vendor, or provider, regarding charge-backs, stopping ofpayments, and/or failures to make payments, which have occurred in anaccount of an individual or entity with whom the respective merchant,vendor, or provider, is currently engaging in a transaction. The presentinvention can provide detailed information to the merchant regarding thetransaction and subsequent activities.

The present invention can also be utilized in order to determine whetheran individual paying for a transaction by check has previously stoppedpayment of a check in a previous transaction. The present invention canalso provide information regarding the transaction and subsequentactivities. The present invention can also be utilized in order todetermine whether an individual paying for a transaction with a checkhas previously had a check returned due to insufficient funds and/or“bounced” a check.

The present invention can also process and/or provide informationregarding unpaid bill information and/or history, loan repaymentinformation and/or history, mortgage repayment information and/orhistory, loan delinquency information and/or history, loan defaultinformation and/or history, repossession information and/or history,foreclosure information and/or history, credit score information and/orhistory, credit rating information and/or history, changes in creditscore or credit rating information and/or history, loans originatedinformation and/or history, loans satisfied and/or paid off informationand/or history, credit account or credit card and/or charge account orcharge card bills paid and/or payments made information and/or history,minimum balance payment information and/or history, bill paid in fullpayment information and/or history, time to pay in full a balance or aloan information and/or history, credit account, credit card account,charge account, or charge card account, credit limit information and/orhistory, credit account, credit card account, charge account, or chargecard account, credit interest and/or interest changes information and/orhistory, charge-back information and/or history for or involving anynumber of accounts, stopping of payment information and/or historyinvolving any number of accounts, non-payment due to insufficient fundsand/or checks bounced information and/or history involving any number ofaccounts, loan application information and/or history, credit account orcredit card account application information and/or history, chargeaccount or charge card account application information and/or history,debit account or debit card account application information and/orhistory, or co-applicant, co-party, or co-signer, information or historyfor, regarding, or involving, a loan, credit account, credit cardaccount, charge account, charge card account, debit account, or debitcard account, for, involving, or associated with, an individual, for anynumber of individuals.

The present invention can also be utilized to provide informationregarding a criminal record, including, but not limited to, informationregarding a traffic infraction(s), violation(s), misdemeanor(s), orfelony or felonies, conviction(s), guilty plea(s), plea bargain(s),arrest warrant(s) issued and/or arrest warrant(s) outstanding, of, for,regarding, or involving, an individual, for any number of individuals.The apparatus and method of the present invention can also processand/or provide information regarding a judgment(s) issued against orinvolving, a judgment(s) satisfied involving, or an unsatisfiedjudgment(s) involving, an individual, for, of, associated with, orregarding, an individual or any number of individuals.

The apparatus and method of the present invention can also processand/or provide any other information regarding an individual, for anynumber of individuals, which may be deemed of interest to a merchant,vendor, or provider, of goods, products, and/or services, to processinformation regarding a counterpart or counterparty to a transaction inorder to determine if an individual could be a risk, could be a creditrisk, or might not fulfill payment obligations, relating to atransaction.

The present invention can also be utilized in order to providetransaction history information, account history information, and/orcharge-back information, or individual information, including theabove-described charge-back, check stopping of payment, or checkbouncing, information, during a transaction authorization process, priorto a transaction authorization process, subsequent to transactionauthorization process, and/or prior to a goods, products, and/orservices, shipment and/or delivery.

The present invention can be utilized in order to provide information toa merchant, vendor, or provider, regarding a charge-back(s), a stoppingof payment(s), and/or a non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds, whichhave occurred on, in conjunction with, and/or relating to, any of theherein-described accounts.

The merchant can then utilize the report information in order todetermine either not to proceed with the transaction, to cancel thetransaction or order, to request additional information, to requestinformation to confirm and/or verify the transaction and the accountholder's or the account owner's authority to enter into the transaction,to request additional assurances from the account holder or accountowner, to secure the account holder's or the account owner's agreementnot to dispute a charge or payment, to secure the account holder's orthe account owner's agreement not to stop payment for a charge orpayment, to secure the account holder's or the account owner's guaranteethat sufficient funds exist to cover a payment, to secure the accountholder's or the account owner's alternate agreement to guarantee paymentfor a charge, to secure a release of liability or claim from the accountholder or account owner regarding the transaction, and/or the merchantcan take any other action in order to protect its interests.

The present invention can be utilized in order to provide respectivecharge-back information, stopping of payment information, and/ornon-payment due to insufficient funds information, to a merchant,vendor, or provider, at any time prior to the merchant's, the vendor's,or the provider's, delivery, transfer, or shipment, of the respectivegoods, products, and/or services, to an individual, entity, accountholder, or account owner.

The present invention can also be utilized in conjunction with, and/oralong with, a transaction authorization process.

The present invention can also be utilized to provide informationregarding an individual, currently engaging in a transaction orotherwise, to a merchant, vendor, or provider.

Intelligent agents, software agents, mobile agents, and/or relatedtechnologies, can also be utilized in conjunction with the presentinvention. The respective intelligent agent(s), software agent(s),mobile agent(s), can be programmed and/or designed to act on behalf ofany of the respective merchants, vendors, or providers, described hereinas utilizing the present invention, so as to act on behalf of therespective merchants, vendors, or providers, as well as to perform anyof the processing functions and/or other functions described herein.

The present invention can also be programmed to be self-activatingand/or activated automatically.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing transaction history information,account history information, and/or charge-back information, orindividual information.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatusand method for providing transaction history information, accounthistory information, and/or charge-back information, or individualinformation, which can be utilized by a merchant, vendor, or otherentity, in processing, and/or in assessing the processing of, atransaction.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing transaction history information,account history information, and/or charge-back information, orindividual information, which can be utilized in order to prevent and/orin order to reduce the incidence of any one or more of credit cardfraud, credit account fraud, charge card fraud, charge account fraud,debit card fraud, debit account fraud, check fraud, checking accountfraud, or cyber-shoplifting.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing transaction history information,account history information, and/or charge-back information, orindividual information, which can be utilized in order to processinformation regarding fraudulent use of any one or more of credit cards,credit accounts, charge cards, charge accounts, debit cards, debitaccounts, electronic money accounts, automated teller machines, checks,or checking accounts.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatusand method for providing transaction history information, accounthistory information, and/or charge-back information, or individualinformation, which can be utilized in order to process informationregarding checks returned due to insufficient funds and checks for whichstop payment orders have been made.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing transaction history information,account history information, and/or charge-back information, orindividual information, which can be utilized to process informationregarding disputes and/or denial of payment assertions made inconjunction with any one or more of credit cards, credit accounts,charge cards, charge accounts, debit cards, debit accounts, electronicmoney accounts, checks, or checking accounts.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing transaction history information,account history information, and/or charge-back information, orindividual information, which can be utilized in order to processinformation regarding past denials of liability or responsibilityregarding a transaction.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatusand method for providing transaction history information, accounthistory information, and/or charge-back information, or individualinformation, which can be utilized in order to perform risk managementassessments regarding a transaction.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing transaction history information,account history information, and/or charge-back information, orindividual information, which can be utilized in face-to-facetransactions, non-face-to-face transactions, telephone transactions,on-line transactions, mail order transactions, or in any othertransactions.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing transaction history information,account history information, and/or charge-back information, orindividual information, which can provide information at any timeduring, prior to, and/or subsequent to, a transaction.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatusand method for providing transaction history information, accounthistory information, and/or charge-back information, or individualinformation, which can be utilized to allow a merchant, vendor, orprovider, of goods, products, and/or services, to process informationregarding a counterpart or counterparty to a transaction in order todetermine if the counterpart or counterparty could be a risk, could be acredit risk, or might not fulfill payment obligations relating to atransaction.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing transaction history information,account history information, and/or charge-back information, orindividual information, which can be utilized during a transaction,during a transaction authorization process, subsequent to a transaction,subsequent to a transaction authorization process, prior to an orderfulfillment process, or during an order fulfillment process.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing transaction history information,account history information, and/or charge-back information, orindividual information, which can be utilized on, over, or onconjunction with, any communication network or system.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatusand method for providing transaction history information, accounthistory information, and/or charge-back information, or individualinformation, which can be utilized on, over, or in conjunction with, anyone or more of a telephone network, a telecommunication network, adigital communication network, a satellite communication network, awireless communication network, a personal communication servicesnetwork, a broadband communication network, or a bluetooth communicationnetwork.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing transaction history information,account history information, and/or charge-back information, orindividual information, which can be utilized on, over, or inconjunction with the Internet and/or the World Wide Web.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing transaction history information,account history information, and/or charge-back information, orindividual information, which can be utilized on, over, or inconjunction with a wireless communication network.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatusand method for providing transaction history information, accounthistory information, and/or charge-back information, or individualinformation, which can be utilized in order to provide information to amerchant, vendor, or provider, regarding charge-backs, stopping ofpayments, and/or failures to make payments, which have occurred in anaccount of an individual or entity.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing transaction history information,account history information, and/or charge-back information, orindividual information, which can provide detailed information to amerchant regarding an account transaction or subsequent activities.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing transaction history information,account history information, and/or charge-back information, orindividual information, which can be utilized in order to providetransaction history information, account history information, and/orcharge-back information, or individual information, during a transactionauthorization process, prior to a transaction authorization process,subsequent to a transaction authorization process, or prior to a goods,products, and/or services, shipment or delivery.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatusand method for providing transaction history information, accounthistory information, and/or charge-back information, or individualinformation, which can utilize intelligent agents, software agents, ormobile agents.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing transaction history information,account history information, and/or charge-back information, orindividual information, which can be programmed to be self-activating oractivated automatically.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing information regarding unpaid billinformation and/or history, loan repayment information and/or history,mortgage repayment information and/or history, loan delinquencyinformation and/or history, loan default information and/or history,repossession information and/or history, foreclosure information and/orhistory, credit score information and/or history, credit ratinginformation and/or history, changes in credit score or credit ratinginformation and/or history, loans originated information and/or history,loans satisfied and/or paid off information and/or history, creditaccount or credit card and/or charge account or charge card bills paidand/or payments made information and/or history, minimum balance paymentinformation and/or history, bill paid in full payment information and/orhistory, time to pay in full a balance or a loan information and/orhistory, credit account, credit card account, charge account, or chargecard account, credit limit information and/or history, credit account,credit card account, charge account, or charge card account, creditinterest and/or interest changes information and/or history, charge-backinformation and/or history for or involving any number of accounts,stopping of payment information and/or history involving any number ofaccounts, non-payment due to insufficient funds and/or checks bouncedinformation and/or history involving any number of accounts, loanapplication information and/or history, credit account or credit cardaccount application information and/or history, charge account or chargecard account application information and/or history, debit account ordebit card account application information and/or history, orco-applicant, co-party, or co-signer, information or history for,regarding, or involving, a loan, credit account, credit card account,charge account, charge card account, debit account, or debit cardaccount, for, involving, or associated with, an individual, for anynumber of individuals.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatusand method for providing information regarding a criminal record,including, but not limited to, information regarding a trafficinfraction(s), violation(s), misdemeanor(s), or felony or felonies,conviction(s), guilty plea(s), plea bargain(s), arrest warrant(s) issuedand/or arrest warrant(s) outstanding, of, for, regarding, or involving,an individual. for any number of individuals, or information regarding ajudgment(s) issued against or involving, a judgment(s) satisfiedinvolving, or an unsatisfied judgment(s) involving, an individual, for,of, associated with, or regarding, an individual or any number ofindividuals.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing any other information regarding anindividual, for any number of individuals, which may be deemed ofinterest to a merchant, vendor, or provider, of goods, products, and/orservices, to process information regarding a counterpart or counterpartyto a transaction in order to determine if an individual could be a risk,could be a credit risk, or might not fulfill payment obligations,relating to a transaction.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatusand method for providing information regarding an individual, currentlyengaging in a transaction or otherwise, to a merchant, vendor, orprovider.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide anapparatus and method for providing a wide variety of informationregarding an individual, involved in a transaction, to a respectivemerchant, vendor, or provider, of a good or a service.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparentto those skilled in the art upon a review of the Description of thePreferred Embodiments taken in conjunction with the Drawings whichfollow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the Drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates the apparatus of the present invention, in blockdiagram form;

FIG. 2 illustrates the central processing computer of FIG. 1, in blockdiagram form;

FIG. 3 illustrates a preferred embodiment method for utilizing theapparatus of FIG. 1, in flow diagram form;

FIG. 4 illustrates another preferred embodiment method for utilizing theapparatus of FIG. 1, in flow diagram form;

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate another preferred embodiment method forutilizing the apparatus of FIG. 1, in flow diagram form; and

FIG. 6 illustrates another preferred embodiment method for utilizing theapparatus of FIG. 1, in flow diagram form.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention pertains to an apparatus and method for providingtransaction history information, account history information, and/orcharge-back information, or individual information, and, in particular,to an apparatus and method for providing transaction historyinformation, account history information, and/or charge-backinformation, or individual information, which can be utilized by amerchant, vendor, or other entity, in processing, and/or in assessingthe processing of, a transaction in order to prevent and/or in order toreduce the incidence of any one or more of credit card fraud, creditaccount fraud, charge card fraud, charge account fraud, debit cardfraud, debit account fraud, check fraud, checking account fraud, and/orcyber-shoplifting.

The apparatus and method of the present invention can be utilized to inorder to process information regarding fraudulent use of any one or moreof credit cards, credit accounts, charge cards, charge accounts, debitcards, debit accounts, electronic money accounts, checks, or checkingaccounts. The apparatus and method of the present invention can also beutilized to in order to process information regarding checks returneddue to insufficient funds, checks for which stop payment orders havebeen made, disputes and/or denial of payment assertions made inconjunction with any one or more of credit cards, credit accounts,charge cards, charge accounts, debit cards, debit accounts, electronicmoney accounts, checks, or checking accounts.

The apparatus and method of the present invention can also processinformation regarding past denials of liability or responsibilityregarding a transaction, past charge-back activity involving any one ormore of a credit card, a credit account, a charge card, a chargeaccount, a debit card, a debit account, or a checking account.

The apparatus and method of the present invention can also processand/or provide information regarding unpaid bill information and/orhistory, loan repayment information and/or history, mortgage repaymentinformation and/or history, loan delinquency information and/or history,loan default information and/or history, repossession information and/orhistory, foreclosure information and/or history, credit scoreinformation and/or history, credit rating information and/or history,changes in credit score or credit rating information and/or history,loans originated information and/or history, loans satisfied and/or paidoff information and/or history, credit account or credit card and/orcharge account or charge card bills paid and/or payments madeinformation and/or history, minimum balance payment information and/orhistory, bill paid in full payment information and/or history, time topay in full a balance or a loan information and/or history, creditaccount, credit card account, charge account, or charge card account,credit limit information and/or history, credit account, credit cardaccount, charge account, or charge card account, credit interest and/orinterest changes information and/or history, charge-back informationand/or history for or involving any number of accounts, stopping ofpayment information and/or history involving any number of accounts,non-payment due to insufficient funds and/or checks bounced informationand/or history involving any number of accounts, loan applicationinformation and/or history, credit account or credit card accountapplication information and/or history, charge account or charge cardaccount application information and/or history, debit account or debitcard account application information and/or history, or co-applicant,co-party, or co-signer, information or history for, regarding, orinvolving, a loan, credit account, credit card account, charge account,charge card account, debit account, or debit card account, for,involving, or associated with, an individual, for any number ofindividuals.

The apparatus and method of the present invention can also processand/or provide information regarding a criminal record, including, butnot limited to, information regarding a traffic infraction(s),violation(s), misdemeanor(s), or felony or felonies, conviction(s),guilty plea(s), plea bargain(s), arrest warrant(s) issued and/or arrestwarrant(s) outstanding, of, for, regarding, or involving, an individual,for any number of individuals. The apparatus and method of the presentinvention can also process and/or provide information regarding ajudgment(s) issued against or involving, a judgment(s) satisfiedinvolving, or an unsatisfied judgment(s) involving, an individual, for,of, associated with, or regarding, an individual or any number ofindividuals.

The apparatus and method of the present invention can also processand/or provide any other information regarding an individual, for anynumber of individuals, which may be deemed of interest to a merchant,vendor, or provider, of goods, products, and/or services, to processinformation regarding a counterpart or counterparty to a transaction inorder to determine if an individual could be a risk, could be a creditrisk, or might not fulfill payment obligations relating to atransaction.

The information obtained from the apparatus and method of the presentinvention can also be utilized by a merchant, a vendor, provider, and/orany other entity, in order to process a transaction, and/or in order toassess whether or not it should fulfill an order relating to atransaction. For example, a merchant can obtain information regarding apurchaser's history of utilizing a credit card in an on-linetransaction, receiving the goods which were the subject of a transactionand, thereafter, disputing the corresponding credit card charge and/ordenying having ever made the transaction. In this manner, the merchantcan utilize the information in order to assess whether or not to fulfilla transaction and/or to cancel the transaction and possibly avoid acharge-back being imposed upon it and the losses relating thereto whichcan include the loss of the goods, the payment for the goods, a“charge-back” fee, and/or any other charges or costs which can beassociated with the charge-back.

The apparatus and method of the present invention can also be utilizedin order to perform risk management in transactions involving payment byany or more of credit cards, credit accounts, charge cards, chargeaccounts, debit cards, debit accounts, electronic money accounts,checks, or checking accounts. The apparatus and method of the presentinvention can also be utilized in face-to-face transactions,non-face-to-face transactions, telephone transactions, on-linetransactions, mail order transactions, and/or in any other non-cashtransactions.

The apparatus and method of the present invention can be utilized inorder to provide information at any time during, prior to, and/orsubsequent to, a transaction. The apparatus and method of the presentinvention can be utilized by a merchant, vendor, provider, or otherentity, in order to assess an individual's or an entity's pasttransaction history, account history, or charge-back history, or otherinformation, in order to determine if the individual or entity has had ahistory of, or could be a risk in, denying being party to a transactioninvolving a credit card, a credit account, a charge card, a chargeaccount, a debit card, a debit account, or a checking account, disputinga transaction a involving credit card, a credit account, a charge card,a charge account, a debit card, a debit account, passing or attemptingto pass a bad check, stopping payment of an issued check, and/or inother ways attempting to defraud or otherwise obtain goods, products, orservices, without paying for same, shopping same, and/orcyber-shoplifting same.

The apparatus and method of the present invention can be utilized inorder to allow a merchant, vendor, or provider, of goods, products,and/or services, to process information regarding a counterpart orcounterparty to a transaction in order to determine if the counterpartor counterparty could be a risk, could be a credit risk, or might notfulfill payment obligations relating to a transaction.

For example, a merchant, by obtaining information regarding anindividual's credit card or charge card purchasing history can utilizethe apparatus and method of the present invention in order to ascertainthat an individual has, in the past, repudiated and/or denied making anon-line credit card purchase or charge card purchase, while all thewhile, the individual or a family member had, in fact, made the purchaseand received a good or product, and causing a charge-back to be imposedon the merchant along with the non-return of the respective good orproduct, as well as causing the merchant to absorb any fees or costsassociated with the charge-back, the transaction and/or the orderfulfillment process. In a similar manner, a merchant can ascertain thatan individual has, in the past, paid for goods, products, or services,with a check which is subsequently refused payment due to insufficientfunds and/or for a check which the individual has subsequently issued astop payment order.

In these instances, the apparatus and method of the present invention,by providing the merchant with information regarding transaction historyinformation, account history information, and/or charge-backinformation, or individual information, can allow the merchant to takeany necessary precautions and/or steps in order to minimize its risk ofloss in transactions with individuals.

As defined herein, the terms “user, “merchant”, “vendor”, “provider”, orthe plural of same, refer to any merchant, merchants, vendor, vendors,provider, and/or providers, of any goods, products, or services, who orwhich utilize the apparatus and method of the present invention in orderto obtain and/or utilize the information provided thereby.

As defined herein, the term “account”, “credit card account”, “chargecard account”, “debit card account”, “electronic money account”, or“checking account”, or the plural of same, refer to any of therespective accounts or accounts which can be utilized by an individualand/or entity in order to engage in a transaction with any of theherein-defined merchants, vendors, and/or providers.

As defined herein, the terms “operator” or “administrator”, or theplural of same, refer to any operators or administrators who or whichoperate and/or administer the operation of the apparatus of the presentinvention and/or any of the central processing computer or computersutilized in conjunction with same.

The apparatus and method of the present invention can providetransaction history information, account history information, and/orcharge-back information, or individual information, any one or more ofduring a transaction, during a transaction authorization process,subsequent to a transaction, subsequent to a transaction authorizationprocess, prior to an order fulfillment process, and/or during an orderfulfillment process.

The apparatus and method of the present invention can also processinformation received, concerning any of the herein-described individualsor entities, from any one or more of credit card issuers, credit accountadministrators, charge card issuers, charge account administrators,debit card issuers, debit account administrators, electronic moneyaccount administrators, checking account administrators, and/or anybanks and/or financial institutions and/or other entities whichfacilitate, manage, operate, and/or administer, any of theherein-described accounts.

The apparatus and method of the present invention can processinformation received, concerning any of the herein-described individualsor entities, from any merchants, vendors, and/or providers of goods,products, and/or services, credit agencies, governmental or otherentities or agencies, and/or any other individual, individuals, entity,and/or entities.

Applicant hereby incorporates by reference herein the subject matter andteachings of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/262,167which teaches and discloses an apparatus and method for providingtransaction history information, account history information, and/orcharge-back information.

FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the apparatus of thepresent invention which is designated generally by the reference numeral100, in block diagram form. With reference to FIG. 1, the apparatus 100includes a central processing computer 10.

The central processing computer 10 can perform any of theherein-described processing routines and/or processing operations, aswell as any of the communication operations described herein as beingprovided by the apparatus 100 and/or the central processing computer 10.

The central processing computer 10 can be a stand-alone computer,computer system, and/or group of computers, which can be dedicated toperforming the processing routines and functionality of the centralprocessing computer 10, and/or can be, can be linked to, and/or can beintegrated with, a credit card account authorization computer, a creditcard account issuer computer, a credit account authorization computer, acredit card account administration computer, a credit accountadministration computer, a charge card account authorization computer, acharge card account issuer computer, a charge account authorizationcomputer, a charge card account administration computer, a chargeaccount administration computer, a debit card account authorizationcomputer, a debit card account issuer computer, a debit accountauthorization computer, a debit card account administration computer, adebit account administration computer, an electronic money accountauthorization computer, an electronic money account issuer computer, anelectronic money account administration computer, a checking accountcomputer, a checking account administration computer, a checking accountissuer computer, a bank computer, a financial institution computer,and/or any other computer or computer system which can be utilized inorder to process information, to process transactions, and/or toservice, any of the herein-described accounts.

The central processing computer 10 can process and/or provide any of theinformation described herein as being provided by the apparatus 100and/or can perform any of the processing routines described herein asbeing performed by the apparatus 100.

The central processing computer 10 can be a computer, a computer system,a network computer, a server computer, and/or a communication device,and/or any combination of same.

The central processing computer 10 can service any number of theherein-described merchants, vendors, and/or providers, and/or any of theaccounts with any of the individuals, account holders, and/or accountowners, associated with any of the herein-described accounts.

The central processing computer 10 can include any number of centralprocessing computers. Any number of central processing computers 10 canbe utilized in conjunction with the apparatus 100.

With reference once again to FIG. 1, the apparatus 100 can also includeone or more merchant communication devices or computers 20 (hereinafterreferred to as “merchant computer 20” or “merchant computers 20”) whichcan be associated with any of the herein-described merchants, vendors,and/or providers, who or which utilize the apparatus 100. A merchant,vendor, or provider, can also have multiple merchant computers 20associated therewith.

Any of the herein-described merchant computers can be, can be linkedwith, and/or can be integrated with, a credit card account authorizationdevice, a credit account authorization device, a charge card accountauthorization device, a charge account authorization device, a debitcard account authorization device, a debit account authorization device,an electronic money account authorization device, an automated tellermachine (ATM), a checking account authorization device, and/or a bankand/or financial institution device or computer.

Any number of merchant computers 20 can be utilized in conjunction withthe apparatus 100.

The merchant computer 20 can transmit information to as well as receiveinformation from the central processing computer(s) 10.

The merchant computer 20 can be any one or more of a device, an accountauthorization device, a computer, a computer system, a group ofcomputers, a telephone, a personal computer, a wireless telephone, apersonal digital assistant, a video telephone, a personal communicationdevice, a wireless device, a handheld device, a palm-top device, and/orany other communication device(s) and/or computer(s).

With reference once again to FIG. 1, the apparatus 100 can also includeone or more information provider communication devices or computers 30(hereinafter referred to as “information provider computer 30” or“information provider computers 30”).

The information provider computer 30 can be associated with a creditcard issuer, a credit account administrator, a charge card issuer, acharge account administrator, a debit card issuer, a debit accountadministrator, an electronic money account administrator, a checkingaccount administrator, a bank, a financial institution, any entity whichfacilitates, manages, operates, and/or administers, any of theherein-described accounts, a merchant, a vendor, a provider, a creditrating agency or service, a governmental or other entity or agency,and/or any other entity which can provide information regarding anytransaction history information, account history information, and/orcharge-back information, or individual information, and/or anyinformation related thereto, for, or regarding, any of the individualsor entities described herein as engaging in transactions with any of theherein-described merchants, vendors, and/or providers.

The information provider computer 30 can transmit information to as wellas receive information from the central processing computer(s) 10. Inthe preferred embodiment, any of the herein-described credit cardissuers, credit account administrators, charge card issuers, chargeaccount administrators, debit card issuers, debit accountadministrators, electronic money account administrators, checkingaccount administrators, banks, financial institutions, and/or orentities, merchants, vendors, providers, credit rating agencies orservices, or governmental or other entities or agencies, can access thecentral processing computer 10 at any time via its respectiveinformation provider computer 30 and transmit and/or provide, to thecentral processing computer 10, any of the herein-described transactionhistory information, account history information, and/or charge-backinformation, or individual information, and/or any information relatedthereto, for, or regarding, any of the individuals or entities describedherein as engaging in transactions with any of the herein-describedmerchants, vendors, and/or providers.

The information provider computer 30 can be any one or more of acomputer, a computer system, and/or a group of computers. Any number ofinformation provider computers 30 can be utilized in conjunction withthe apparatus 100.

The information provider computer 30 can be any one or more of a device,an account authorization device, a computer, a computer system, a groupof computers, a telephone, a personal computer, a wireless telephone, apersonal digital assistant, a video telephone, a personal communicationdevice, a wireless device, a handheld device, a palm-top device, and/orany other communication device(s) and/or computer(s).

Any number of central processing computers 10, merchant computers 20,and/or information provider computers 30, can be utilized in conjunctionwith the present invention.

The central processing computers 10, the merchant computers 20, and/orthe information provider computers 30, can communicate with, transmitinformation to, and/or receive information from, any other centralprocessing computers 10, merchant computers 20, and/or the informationprovider computers 30, over any suitable communication network orsystem, including, but not limited to a telephone network, atelecommunication network, a digital communication network, a satellitecommunication network, a wireless communication network, a personalcommunication services network, a broadband communication network, abluetooth communication network, the Internet, the World Wide Web,and/or any other communication network and/or system.

The apparatus 100 can be utilized on, over, and/or in conjunction with,any suitable communication network or system, including, but not limitedto a telephone network, a telecommunication network, a digitalcommunication network, a satellite communication network, a wirelesscommunication network, a personal communication services network, abroadband communication network, a bluetooth communication network, theInternet, the World Wide Web, and/or any other communication networkand/or system.

Any of the central processing computers 10, the merchant computers 20,and/or the information provider computers 30, can include, whereappropriate and/or where suitable, a central processing unit (CPU), arandom access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), an input device, adisplay device, a receiver, a transmitter, a database, and an outputdevice.

FIG. 2 illustrates the central processing computer 10 of FIG. 1, inblock diagram form. With reference to FIG. 2, the central processingcomputer 10 includes a central processing unit or CPU 10A, which in thepreferred embodiment, is a microprocessor. The CPU 10A may also be amicrocomputer, a minicomputer, a macro-computer, and/or a mainframecomputer, depending upon the application.

The central processing computer 10 also includes a random access memorydevice(s) 10B (RAM) and a read only memory device(s) 10C (ROM), each ofwhich is connected to the CPU 10A, a user input device 10D, for enteringdata and/or commands into the central processing computer 10, whichincludes any one or more of a keyboard, a scanner, a user pointingdevice, such as, for example, a mouse, a touch pad, and/or an audioinput device and/or a video input device, etc., if desired, which inputdevice(s) is also connected to the CPU 10A. The central processingcomputer 10 also includes a display device 10E for displaying dataand/or information to a user or operator.

The central processing computer 10 also includes a transmitter(s) 10F,for transmitting signals and/or data and/or information to any one ormore of the central processing computers 10, the merchant computers 20,and/or the information provider computers 30, which may be utilized inconjunction with the present invention.

The central processing computer 10 also includes a receiver 10G, forreceiving signals and/or data and/or information from any one or more ofthe central processing computer(s) 10, the merchant computers 20, and/orthe information provider computers 30, which may be utilized inconjunction with the present invention.

With reference to FIG. 2, the central processing computer 10 alsoincludes a database 10H. The database 10H can contain any data,information, software programs, software algorithms, and/or any otherinformation needed and/or desired for performing any of the processingroutines and/or functionality described herein as being performed by thecentral processing computer(s) 10 and/or by the apparatus 100.

The database 10H can also include any data and/or information neededand/or desired for performing any of the processing routines and/orfunctionality described herein as being performed by any of the merchantcomputers 20, and/or the information provider computers 30, describedherein.

The database 10H can contain data and/or information regarding any ofthe individuals, entities, account holders, and/or account owners, ofany of the credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts,charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, electronic moneyaccounts, and checking accounts, described herein. The database 10H canalso include contact information for any of the individuals, entities,account holders, account owners, including, but not limited to, name(s),address or addresses, mailing address or mailing addresses, telephonenumber(s), facsimile number(s), e-mail address or e-mail addresses,uniform resource locator (URL) or URLs, contact information, and/orcontact name(s).

The database 10H can also contain, for each account, and/or for eachtype of account, the account number, information regarding transactionswhich have occurred on the account, information regarding counterpartsor counterparties to transactions on the account, information regardingaccount payments, information regarding account payment history,information regarding transactions denials made by respectiveindividuals, entities, account holders, and/or account owners,information regarding disputes involving or regarding transactionsinvolving credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts,charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, electronic moneyaccounts, checking accounts, information regarding fraudulent use,and/or alleged fraudulent use, credit card accounts, credit accounts,charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debitaccounts, electronic money accounts, checking accounts, informationregarding fraudulent transactions, and/or alleged fraudulenttransactions, on or involving, credit card accounts, credit accounts,charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debitaccounts, electronic money accounts, checking accounts, informationregarding the non-providing, and/or the alleged non-providing, of goods,products, and/or services, in a transaction(s), on or involving, creditcard accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts,debit card accounts, debit accounts, electronic money accounts, checkingaccounts, information regarding the charging-back of payment(s) in atransaction(s), on or involving, credit card accounts, credit accounts,charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debitaccounts, electronic money accounts, checking accounts, the number ofcharge-backs on an account, the types of transactions involved in acharge-back, the amount of transactions involved a charge-back, the typeof goods, products, and/or services, involved in a charge-back, themerchants, vendors, or providers, involved in a charge-back, theaccounts, individuals, entities, account holders, and/or account owners,involved in a charge-back, the account or account involved in acharge-back, probability and/or statistical information regarding thelikelihood that an account, a transaction, an individual, an entity, anaccount holder, and/or an account owner, can or may be involved in acharge-back, information regarding the stopping of payment in atransaction(s), on or involving, credit card accounts, credit accounts,charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debitaccounts, electronic money accounts, checking accounts, the number ofstopping of payments on an account, the types of transactions involvedin a stopping of payment, the amount of transactions involved a stoppingof payment, the type of goods, products, and/or services, involved in astopping of payment, the merchants, vendors, or providers, involved in astopping of payment, the accounts, individuals, entities, accountholders, and/or account owners, involved in a stopping of payment, theaccount or account involved in a stopping of payment, probability and/orstatistical information regarding the likelihood that an account, atransaction, an individual, an entity, an account holder, and/or anaccount owner, can or may be involved in a stopping of payment, and/orany other related information.

The database 10H can contain data and/or information regarding any ofthe herein-described merchants, vendors, providers, credit card issuers,credit account administrators, charge card issuers, charge accountadministrators, debit card issuers, debit account administrators,electronic money account administrators, checking accountadministrators, banks, financial institutions, and/or or entities,merchants, vendors, providers, credit rating agencies or services,credit agencies, governmental or other entities or agencies, and/orinformation providers. The database 10H can also include contactinformation for any of the herein-described merchants, vendors,providers, credit card issuers, credit account administrators, chargecard issuers, charge account administrators, debit card issuers, debitaccount administrators, electronic money account administrators,checking account administrators, banks, financial institutions, and/oror entities, merchants, vendors, providers, credit rating agencies orservices, credit agencies, governmental or other entities or agencies,and/or information providers, including, but not limited to, name(s),address or addresses, mailing address or mailing addresses, telephonenumber(s), facsimile number(s), e-mail address or e-mail addresses,uniform resource locator (URL) or URLs, contact information, and/orcontact name(s).

The database 10H can also contain information regarding accounts,financial accounts, transaction accounts, and/or non-financial accounts,for, or associated with, any of the herein-described merchants, vendors,providers, credit card issuers, credit account administrators, chargecard issuers, charge account administrators, debit card issuers, debitaccount administrators, electronic money account administrators,checking account administrators, banks, financial institutions, and/oror entities, merchants, vendors, providers, credit rating agencies orservices, credit agencies, governmental or other entities or agencies,and/or information providers.

The database 10H can also contain, for each of the accounts, and/or foreach type of account, for or associated with the respective merchants,vendors, providers, credit card issuers, credit account administrators,charge card issuers, charge account administrators, debit card issuers,debit account administrators, electronic money account administrators,checking account administrators, banks, financial institutions, and/oror entities, merchants, vendors, providers, credit rating agencies orservices, credit agencies, governmental or other entities or agencies,and/or information providers, the account number, information regardingtransactions which have occurred on the account, information regardingcounterparts or counterparties to transactions on the account,information regarding account payments, information regarding accountbilling collection, information regarding account payment history,information regarding account bill collection history, informationregarding transactions denials made by respective individuals, entities,account holders, and/or account owners, information regarding disputesinvolving or regarding transactions involving credit card accounts,credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit cardaccounts, debit accounts, electronic money accounts, checking accounts,information regarding fraudulent use, and/or alleged fraudulent use,credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, chargeaccounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, electronic moneyaccounts, checking accounts, information regarding fraudulenttransactions, and/or alleged fraudulent transactions, on or involving,credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, chargeaccounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, electronic moneyaccounts, checking accounts, information regarding the non-providing,and/or the alleged non-providing, of goods, products, and/or services,in a transaction(s), on or involving, credit card accounts, creditaccounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts,debit accounts, electronic money accounts, checking accounts,information regarding the charging-back of payment(s) in atransaction(s), on or involving, credit card accounts, credit accounts,charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debitaccounts, electronic money accounts, checking accounts, the number ofcharge-backs on an account, the types of transactions involved in acharge-back, the amount of transactions involved a charge-back, the typeof goods, products, and/or services, involved in a charge-back, theaccounts, merchants, vendors, or providers, involved in a charge-back,the accounts, individuals, entities, account holders, and/or accountowners, involved in a charge-back, the account or account involved in acharge-back, probability and/or statistical information regarding thelikelihood that an account, a transaction, an individual, an entity, anaccount holder, and/or an account owner, can or may be involved in acharge-back, information regarding the stopping of payment in atransaction(s), on or involving, credit card accounts, credit accounts,charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debitaccounts, electronic money accounts, checking accounts, the number ofstopping of payments on an account, the types of transactions involvedin a stopping of payment, the amount of transactions involved a stoppingof payment, the type of goods, products, and/or services, involved in astopping of payment, the accounts, merchants, vendors, or providers,involved in a stopping of payment, the individuals, entities, accountholders, and/or account owners, involved in a stopping of payment, theaccount or account involved in a stopping of payment, probability and/orstatistical information regarding the likelihood that an account, atransaction, an individual, an entity, an account holder, and/or anaccount owner, can or may be involved in a stopping of payment, and/orany other related information.

The database 10H can also include information regarding resolution ofdisputes, resolution of transactions denials, resolution of allegefraudulent use of account accusations, resolution of charge-backs,resolution of stopping of payments, and/or any other information for, orregarding, any of the herein-described accounts, and/or any of theindividuals, entities, account holders, account owners, merchants,vendors, providers, and/or any of the credit card issuers, creditaccount administrators, charge card issuers, charge accountadministrators, debit card issuers, debit account administrators,electronic money account administrators, checking accountadministrators, banks, financial institutions, and/or or entities,described herein.

The database 10H can also contain account information or any otheraccount information, account identification information, account historyinformation, account payment information, account non-paymentinformation, transaction information, information regarding transactiondenial, account charge-back information, account stopping of paymentinformation, and/or any other pertinent or relevant information neededand/or desired for performing any of the processing routines and/orfunctionality described herein as being performed and/or as beingprovided by the central processing computer 10 and/or the apparatus 100.

The database 10H can also contain information regarding unpaid billinformation and/or history, loan repayment information and/or history,mortgage repayment information and/or history, loan delinquencyinformation and/or history, loan default information and/or history,repossession information and/or history, foreclosure information and/orhistory, credit score information and/or history, credit ratinginformation and/or history, changes in credit score or credit ratinginformation and/or history, loans originated information and/or history,loans satisfied and/or paid off information and/or history, creditaccount or credit card and/or charge account or charge card bills paidand/or payments made information and/or history, minimum balance paymentinformation and/or history, bill paid in full payment information and/orhistory, time to pay in full a balance or a loan information and/orhistory, credit account, credit card account, charge account, or chargecard account, credit limit information and/or history, credit account,credit card account, charge account, or charge card account, creditinterest and/or interest changes information and/or history, charge-backinformation and/or history for or involving any number of accounts,stopping of payment information and/or history involving any number ofaccounts, non-payment due to insufficient funds and/or checks bouncedinformation and/or history involving any number of accounts, loanapplication information and/or history, credit account or credit cardaccount application information and/or history, charge account or chargecard account application information and/or history, debit account ordebit card account application information and/or history, orco-applicant, co-party, or co-signer, information or history for,regarding, or involving, a loan, credit account, credit card account,charge account, charge card account, debit account, or debit cardaccount, for, involving, or associated with, an individual, for anynumber of individuals.

The database 10H can also contain information regarding a criminalrecord, including, but not limited to, information regarding a trafficinfraction(s), violation(s), misdemeanor(s), or felony or felonies,conviction(s), guilty plea(s), plea bargain(s), arrest warrant(s) issuedand/or arrest warrant(s) outstanding, of, for, regarding, or involving,an individual, for any number of individuals. The database 10H can alsocontain information regarding a judgment(s) issued against or involving,a judgment(s) satisfied involving, or an unsatisfied judgment(s)involving, an individual, for, of, associated with, or regarding, anindividual or any number of individuals.

The database 10H can also contain any other information regarding anindividual, for any number of individuals, which may be deemed ofinterest to a merchant, vendor, or provider, of goods, products, and/orservices, to process information regarding a counterpart or counterpartyto a transaction in order to determine if an individual could be a risk,could be a credit risk, or might not fulfill payment obligationsrelating to a transaction.

Any of the data and/or information described herein can be provided frommultiple information sources and/or from multiple individuals orentities by utilizing any of the respective central processing computers10, merchant computers 20, and/or information provider computers 30.

The database 10H can also contain any other information which may berelevant, pertinent, useful, and/or desired, for facilitating theoperation of the apparatus 100 and method of the present invention asdescribed herein and/or as related thereto.

The database 10H, in the preferred embodiment, is a database which mayinclude individual databases or collections of databases, with eachdatabase being designated to store any and all of the data and/orinformation described herein. Applicant hereby incorporates by referenceherein the teachings of Basic Business Statistics Concepts andApplications, Mark L. Berenson and David M. Levine, 6^(th) Edition,Prentice Hall 1996.

The database 10H, or collection of databases, may be updated by each ofthe respective users, individuals, central processing computer operatorsor administrators, merchants, vendors, providers, credit card issuers,credit account administrators, charge card issuers, charge accountadministrators, debit card issuers, debit account administrators,electronic money account administrators, checking accountadministrators, banks, financial institutions, and/or or entities,merchants, vendors, providers, credit rating agencies or services,credit agencies, creditors, loan originators, loan servicing entities,governmental or other entities or agencies, and/or any other informationproviders, which can provide any of the information described herein asbeing utilized in connection with the apparatus and method of thepresent invention and/or any of the information described herein asbeing stored in the database 10H, in real-time and/or otherwise, and/orvia dynamically linked database management techniques.

It is envisioned, in the preferred embodiment, that the database 10H, orcollection of databases, can be updated upon the availability of, and/orthe making available of, any information and/or information updatesconcerning any of the information, account information, and/or otherinformation, described herein as being stored in the database 10H. Theinformation stored in the database 10H can be updated by any of theherein-described users, individuals, central processing computeroperators or administrators, merchants, vendors, providers, credit cardissuers, credit account administrators, charge card issuers, chargeaccount administrators, debit card issuers, debit accountadministrators, electronic money account administrators, checkingaccount administrators, banks, financial institutions, and/or orentities, merchants, vendors, providers, credit rating agencies orservices, credit agencies, governmental or other entities or agencies,and/or information providers, who or which can provide the informationto the central processing computer 10 in any appropriate manner and/orwho or which can transmit the information to the central processingcomputer 10 via a respective merchant computer 20, via a respectiveinformation provider computer 30, and/or via any other computer orcommunication device, in real-time and/or otherwise.

The data and/or information stored in the database 10H can also beupdated by external sources. The database 10H will contain any and allinformation deemed necessary and/or desirable for providing all of theprocessing and/or services and/or functions described herein. Applicanthereby incorporates by reference herein the subject matter ofFundamentals of Database Systems, by Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B.Navathe, 2^(nd) Ed., Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1994.

With reference once again to FIG. 2, the central processing computer 10also includes an output device 10I such as a printer, a modem, afax/modem, or other output device, for outputting information to theoperator or user of the central processing computer 10 or to a thirdparty or third party entity.

The apparatus 100 and method of the present invention can be utilized,in a preferred embodiment, in order to provide information to amerchant, vendor, or provider, regarding charge-backs, stopping ofpayments, and/or failures to make payments, which have occurred in anaccount of an individual or entity with whom the respective merchant,vendor, or provider, is currently engaging in a transaction. Forexample, a merchant can obtain information indicating that a purchasingindividual has, in the past, engaged in credit card charge disputingactivity regarding a previous transaction which has resulted in acharge-back to the merchant involved in the previous transaction.

The apparatus 100 can provide detailed information to the merchantregarding the transaction and subsequent activities. For example, theapparatus 100 can provide the merchant with information indicating thatthe purchase was an on-line credit card purchase, that the purchasingindividual provided certain identification and/or other information, andthat the individual credit card account holder later claimed to have notmade, or did not authorize the credit card purchase.

In another preferred embodiment, the apparatus 100 and method of thepresent invention can be utilized in order to determine whether anindividual paying for a transaction by check has previously stoppedpayment of a check in a previous transaction. The apparatus 100 andmethod of the present invention can also provide information regardingthe transaction and subsequent activities.

In another preferred embodiment, the apparatus 100 and method of thepresent invention can be utilized in order to determine whether anindividual paying for a transaction with a check has previously had acheck returned due to insufficient funds and/or “bounced” a check.

In another preferred embodiment, the apparatus 100 and method of thepresent invention can be utilized in order to provide transactionhistory information, account history information, and/or charge-backinformation, or individual information, including the above-describedcharge-back, check stopping of payment, or check bouncing, information,during a transaction authorization process, prior to an transactionauthorization process, subsequent to transaction authorization process,and/or prior to a goods, products, and/or services, shipment and/ordelivery.

In another preferred embodiment, the apparatus 100 and method of thepresent invention can be utilized in conjunction with a transactionprocess and/or a transaction authorization process.

FIG. 3 illustrates a preferred embodiment method for utilizing theapparatus 100 of the present invention, in flow diagram form. In theembodiment of FIG. 3, the apparatus 100 of the present invention can beutilized in order to provide information to a merchant, vendor, orprovider, regarding a charge-back(s), a stopping of payment(s), and/or anon-payment(s) due to insufficient funds, which have occurred on, inconjunction with, and/or relating to, any of the herein-describedaccounts.

The embodiment of FIG. 3 can be utilized to provide informationregarding charge-backs which have occurred on, in conjunction with,and/or relating to, credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge cardaccounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, checkingaccounts, bank accounts, automated teller machine accounts, and/or otheraccounts.

The embodiment of FIG. 3 can also be utilized in order to provideinformation regarding stopping of payments which have occurred on, inconjunction with, and/or relating to, credit card accounts, creditaccounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts,debit accounts, checking accounts, bank accounts, automated tellermachine accounts, and/or other accounts.

The embodiment of FIG. 3 can also be utilized in order to provideinformation regarding non-payment due to insufficient funds which haveoccurred on, in conjunction with, and/or relating to, credit cardaccounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debitcard accounts, debit accounts, checking accounts, bank accounts,automated teller machine accounts, and/or other accounts.

The embodiment of FIG. 3 will be described as being utilized in order toprovide information regarding charge-backs which have occurred on, inconjunction with, and/or relating to a credit card account or a chargecard account. The embodiment of FIG. 3 can be utilized in a same, in asimilar, and/or in an analogous manner, in order to provide any one ormore of information regarding charge-backs, information regardingstopping of payments, and/or information regarding non-payment due toinsufficient funds, which have occurred on, in conjunction with, and/orrelating to any one or more of credit card accounts, credit accounts,charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debitaccounts, checking accounts, bank accounts, automated teller machineaccounts, and/or other accounts.

With reference to FIG. 3, the operation of the apparatus 100 commencesat step 300. At step 301, a merchant who is engaged in a transactionwith an individual, who is utilizing a credit card account or a chargecard account to effect payment for a transaction involving any type orkind of goods, products, and/or services, can access the centralprocessing computer 10 via a merchant computer 20.

At step 301, the merchant can access the central processing computer 10and enter information regarding the transaction and/or informationregarding the credit card account or the charge card account which theindividual has presented for payment, into the merchant computer 20associated with the merchant. The information can, for example, beentered into a transaction authorization device which can be utilized asa merchant computer 20. At step 302, the information entered into themerchant computer 20, at step 301, is transmitted to the centralprocessing computer 10.

At step 303, the central processing computer 10 will receive theinformation. At step 304, the central processing computer 10 willprocess the information received, at step 303, in conjunction with theinformation stored in the database 10H. At step 304, the centralprocessing computer 10 will generate a charge-back information report.

The charge-back information report can contain any of theherein-described information which is stored in the database 10H. Thecharge-back information report can, for example, contain informationregarding the number and frequency of charge-backs which have occurredon the respective credit card account or charge card account, thereasons for the charge-back action, allegations made by the accountholder or account owner, dispute allegations made by the account holderor account owner, allegations of fraudulent or unauthorized accountactivity made by the account holder or account owner, the basis for anyof the above-described allegations, allegations or responses made by themerchants, vendors, or providers, involved in the transactions inquestion, transactions amounts involved, probability or statisticalinformation regarding whether the account holder or account owner can bea charge-back risk in the present transaction, and/or any otherinformation regarding charge-back(s) which have occurred on therespective account, which can or which may be useful to and/or ofinterest to a merchant, vendor, or provider, in assessing whether or notthe present transaction may present a charge-back risk.

The charge-back information report can also contain unpaid billinformation and/or history, loan repayment information and/or history,mortgage repayment information and/or history, loan delinquencyinformation and/or history, loan default information and/or history,repossession information and/or history, foreclosure information and/orhistory, credit score information and/or history, credit ratinginformation and/or history, changes in credit score or credit ratinginformation and/or history, loans originated information and/or history,loans satisfied and/or paid off information and/or history, creditaccount or credit card and/or charge account or charge card bills paidand/or payments made information and/or history, minimum balance paymentinformation and/or history, bill paid in full payment information and/orhistory, time to pay in full a balance or a loan information and/orhistory, credit account, credit card account, charge account, or chargecard account, credit limit information and/or history, credit account,credit card account, charge account, or charge card account, creditinterest and/or interest changes information and/or history, charge-backinformation and/or history for or involving any number of accounts,stopping of payment information and/or history involving any number ofaccounts, non-payment due to insufficient funds and/or checks bouncedinformation and/or history involving any number of accounts, loanapplication information and/or history, credit account or credit cardaccount application information and/or history, charge account or chargecard account application information and/or history, debit account ordebit card account application information and/or history, orco-applicant, co-party, or co-signer, information or history for,regarding, or involving, a loan, credit account, credit card account,charge account, charge card account, debit account, or debit cardaccount, for, involving, or associated with, the individual involved inthe transaction or the account holder or account owner of the accountinvolved in the transaction.

The charge-back information report can also contain any one or more ofinformation regarding a criminal record, including, but not limited to,information regarding a traffic infraction(s), violation(s),misdemeanor(s), or felony or felonies, conviction(s), guilty plea(s),plea bargain(s), arrest warrant(s) issued and/or arrest warrant(s)outstanding, of, for, regarding, or involving, the individual involvedin the transaction or the account holder or account owner of the accountinvolved in the transaction. The charge-back information report can alsocontain information regarding a judgment(s) issued against or involving,a judgment(s) satisfied involving, or an unsatisfied judgment(s)involving, an individual, for, of, associated with, or regarding, theindividual involved in the transaction or the account holder or accountowner of the account involved in the transaction.

The charge-back information report can also contain informationregarding information which is missing and/or not available at the timeof report generation.

In the case when the apparatus 100 is utilized to provide stopping ofpayment information or information regarding non-payment(s) due toinsufficient funds, such as in the case of check payments, debitpayments, electronic money payments, and/or other payments, the centralprocessing computer 10 will, at step 304, process the informationregarding the respective transaction and information regarding therespective account in conjunction with the information stored in thedatabase 10H and generate a respective stopping of payment informationreport or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report.

The respective stopping of payment(s) information report ornon-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report can containany of the herein-described information which is stored in the database10H. The respective stopping of payment(s) information report ornon-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report can, forexample, contain information regarding the number and frequency ofrespective stopping of payment(s) or non-payment(s) due to insufficientfunds which have occurred on the respective account, the reasons for therespective stopping of payment(s) or non-payment(s) due to insufficientfunds, allegations made by the account holder or account owner, disputeallegations made by the account holder or account owner, allegations offraudulent or unauthorized account activity made by the account holderor account owner, the basis for any of the above-described allegations,allegations or responses made by the merchants, vendors, or providers,involved in the transactions in question, transactions amounts involved,probability or statistical information regarding whether the accountholder or account owner can be a respective stopping of payment(s) riskor non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds risk in the presenttransaction, and/or any other information regarding respective stoppingof payment(s) or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds which haveoccurred on the respective account, which can or which may be useful toand/or of interest to a merchant, vendor, or provider, in assessingwhether or not the present transaction may present a respective stoppingof payment(s) risk or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds risk.

The respective stopping of payment(s) information report ornon-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report can alsocontain unpaid bill information and/or history, loan repaymentinformation and/or history, mortgage repayment information and/orhistory, loan delinquency information and/or history, loan defaultinformation and/or history, repossession information and/or history,foreclosure information and/or history, credit score information and/orhistory, credit rating information and/or history, changes in creditscore or credit rating information and/or history, loans originatedinformation and/or history, loans satisfied and/or paid off informationand/or history, credit account or credit card and/or charge account orcharge card bills paid and/or payments made information and/or history,minimum balance payment information and/or history, bill paid in fullpayment information and/or history, time to pay in full a balance or aloan information and/or history, credit account, credit card account,charge account, or charge card account, credit limit information and/orhistory, credit account, credit card account, charge account, or chargecard account, credit interest and/or interest changes information and/orhistory, charge-back information and/or history for or involving anynumber of accounts, stopping of payment information and/or historyinvolving any number of accounts, non-payment due to insufficient fundsand/or checks bounced information and/or history involving any number ofaccounts, loan application information and/or history, credit account orcredit card account application information and/or history, chargeaccount or charge card account application information and/or history,debit account or debit card account application information and/orhistory, or co-applicant, co-party, or co-signer, information or historyfor, regarding, or involving, a loan, credit account, credit cardaccount, charge account, charge card account, debit account, or debitcard account, for, involving, or associated with, the individualinvolved in the transaction or the account holder or account owner ofthe account involved in the transaction.

The respective stopping of payment(s) information report ornon-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report can alsocontain any one or more of information regarding a criminal record,including, but not limited to, information regarding a trafficinfraction(s), violation(s), misdemeanor(s), or felony or felonies,conviction(s), guilty plea(s), plea bargain(s), arrest warrant(s) issuedand/or arrest warrant(s) outstanding, of, for, regarding, or involving,the individual involved in the transaction or the account holder oraccount owner of the account involved in the transaction. The respectivestopping of payment(s) information report or non-payment(s) due toinsufficient funds information report can also contain informationregarding a judgment(s) issued against or involving, a judgment(s)satisfied involving, or an unsatisfied judgment(s) involving, anindividual, for, of, associated with, or regarding, the individualinvolved in the transaction or the account holder or account owner ofthe account involved in the transaction.

The respective stopping of payment(s) information report ornon-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report can alsocontain information regarding information which is missing and/or notavailable at the time of report generation.

In this regard, the apparatus 100 and method of the present inventioncan provide a wide variety of information regarding an individualinvolved in a transaction, to a respective merchant, vendor, orprovider, of a good, product, or service.

At step 305, the central processing computer 10 can transmit thecharge-back information report (or the respective stopping of paymentinformation report or non-payment(s) due to insufficient fundsinformation report, if applicable), to the merchant computer 20. Thecharge-back information report (or the respective stopping of paymentinformation report or non-payment(s) due to insufficient fundsinformation report, if applicable) can also be transmitted to themerchant or to the merchant computer 20 as any one or more of an e-mailmessage, an instant messaging message, a short message, a beepermessage, a pager message, a telephone message, a recorded voice message,and/or any other electronic message or electronic transmission.

At step 306, the merchant computer 10 can receive the charge-backinformation report (or the respective stopping of payment informationreport or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report,if applicable).

At step 307, the information provided and/or contained in thecharge-back information report (or the respective stopping of paymentinformation report or non-payment(s) due to insufficient fundsinformation report, if applicable) can be displayed to the merchant orthe merchant's employee or agent, can be output or printed out, and/orcan otherwise be provided to the merchant or the merchant's employee oragent.

At step 308, the merchant or the merchant's employee or agent can reviewthe information contained in the charge-back information report (or therespective stopping of payment information report or non-payment(s) dueto insufficient funds information report, if applicable) and determinewhether or not to proceed to engage in the transaction, to proceed toprocess the transaction, to proceed to consummate the transaction, or tocancel the transaction. In this manner, for example, a merchant can beapprised of past credit card or charge card disputes, denials,fraudulent use allegations, charge-back impositions, and/orcyber-shoplifting activity, which occurred on an account, which may beidentified in the respective charge-back information report, or anyother respective information which may be contained in the respectivestopping of payment information report or non-payment(s) due toinsufficient funds information report.

The merchant can then utilize the report information in order todetermine either not to proceed with the transaction, to cancel thetransaction or order, to request additional information, to requestinformation to confirm and/or verify the transaction and the accountholder's or the account owner's authority to enter into the transaction,to request additional assurances from the account holder or accountowner, to secure the account holder's or the account owner's agreementnot to dispute a charge or payment, to secure the account holder's orthe account owner's agreement not to stop payment for a charge orpayment, to secure the account holder's or the account owner's guaranteethat sufficient funds exist to cover a payment, to secure the accountholder's or the account owner's alternate agreement to guarantee paymentfor a charge, to secure a release of liability or claim from the accountholder or account owner regarding the transaction, and/or the merchantcan take any other action in order to protect its interests.

Thereafter, the operation of the apparatus 100 will cease at step 309.

In another preferred embodiment, the apparatus 100 and method of thepresent invention can be utilized in order to provide respectivecharge-back information, stopping of payment information, and/ornon-payment due to insufficient funds information, to a merchant,vendor, or provider, at any time prior to the merchant's, the vendor's,or the provider's, delivery, transfer, or shipment, of the respectivegoods, products, and/or services, to an individual, entity, accountholder, or account owner. In this regard, for example, the apparatus 100can process and provide information to the merchant prior to themerchant's delivery, transfer, or shipment, of a good or product, to theaccount holder, thereby allowing the merchant to ascertain, evaluate,and/or determine, the charge-back risks, the stopping of payment risks,and/or the non-payment due to insufficient funds risks, which exist, orwhich may exist, in a transaction, prior to the merchant delivering,transferring, and/or shipping the good or product to the counterparty oraccount holder, and/or otherwise relinquishing possession of, or titleto, the good or product.

In this manner, the apparatus 100 can be utilized in order to allow amerchant, vendor, or provider, to reduce charge-back or non-paymentrisks and/or to otherwise protect its interests.

FIG. 4 illustrates another preferred embodiment method for utilizing theapparatus 100 of the present invention, in flow diagram form. In theembodiment of FIG. 4, the apparatus 100 of the present invention can beutilized in order to provide information to a merchant, vendor, orprovider, regarding a charge-back(s), a stopping of payment(s), and/or anon-payment(s) due to insufficient funds, which have occurred on, inconjunction with, and/or relating to, any of the herein-describedaccounts.

The information can be provided to the merchant, vendor, or provider, atany time prior to a pre-specified time in order to allow the merchant,vendor, or provider, to receive and review the information subsequent tothe transaction but prior to delivering, transferring, or shipping, therespective goods, products, or services, to a recipient pursuant to atransaction. In this manner, for example, a merchant can process atransaction, provide information regarding a shipping or delivery dateand receive the requested information prior to shipping or delivering agood or product to a recipient, a customer, or account holder or accountowner.

For example, a merchant who or which ships goods or products three (3)days after an order is place can be provided with transaction historyinformation, account history information, and/or charge-backinformation, or individual information, regarding the account, theindividual, or the account holder or account owner prior to shipping ordelivering the goods or products, thereby giving the merchant theopportunity to utilize the report information in order to determineeither not to proceed with the transaction, to request additionalinformation, to request information to confirm and/or verify thetransaction and the account holder's or the account owner's authority toenter into the transaction, to request additional assurances from theaccount holder or account owner, to secure the account holder's or theaccount owner's agreement not to dispute a charge or payment, to securethe account holder's or the account owner's agreement not to stoppayment for a charge or payment, to secure the account holder's or theaccount owner's guarantee that sufficient funds exist to cover apayment, to secure the account holder's or the account owner's alternateagreement to guarantee payment for a charge, to secure a release ofliability or claim from the account holder or account owner regardingthe transaction, and/or the merchant can take any other action in orderto protect its interests.

The embodiment of FIG. 4 can also be utilized in order to provideinformation regarding stopping of payments which have occurred on, inconjunction with, and/or relating to, credit card accounts, creditaccounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts,debit accounts, checking accounts, bank accounts, automated tellermachine accounts, and/or other accounts.

The embodiment of FIG. 4 can also be utilized in order to provideinformation regarding non-payment due to insufficient funds which haveoccurred on, in conjunction with, and/or relating to, credit cardaccounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debitcard accounts, debit accounts, checking accounts, bank accounts,automated teller machine accounts, and/or other accounts.

The embodiment of FIG. 4 will be described as being utilized in order toprovide information regarding charge-backs which have occurred on, inconjunction with, and/or relating to a credit card account or a chargecard account. It is to be understood, however, that the embodiment ofFIG. 4 can be utilized in a same, in a similar, and/or in an analogousmanner, in order to provide any one or more of information regardingcharge-backs, information regarding stopping of payments, and/orinformation regarding non-payment due to insufficient funds, which haveoccurred on, in conjunction with, and/or relating to any one or more ofcredit card accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, chargeaccounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, checking accounts, bankaccounts, automated teller machine accounts, and/or other accounts.

With reference to FIG. 4, the operation of the apparatus 100 commencesat step 400. At step 401, a merchant who is engaged in a transactionwith an individual, who is utilizing a credit card account or a chargecard account to effect payment for a transaction involving any type orkind of goods, products, and/or services, can access the centralprocessing computer 10 via a merchant computer 20.

At step 401, the merchant can access the central processing computer 10and enter information regarding the transaction and/or informationregarding the credit card account or the charge card account which theindividual has presented for payment, into the merchant computer 20associated with the merchant. The merchant can also enter informationregarding its shipping, transferring, or delivery, policies, includingthe time period (i.e. hours, days, etc.) which typically elapses inbetween a merchant taking an order or processing an order and shipping,transferring, or delivering, the goods, products, or services, which arethe subject of the transaction, and/or otherwise fulfilling the order orobligations under the transaction. The merchant can also enterinformation regarding the shipping, transferring, and/or delivery, dateand/or time. The merchant can also enter a time limit or time period forreceiving the report.

The information can, for example, be entered into a transactionauthorization device which can be utilized as a merchant computer 20. Atstep 402, the information entered into the merchant computer 20, at step401, is transmitted to the central processing computer 10.

At step 403, the central processing computer 10 will receive theinformation. At step 404, the central processing computer 10 willprocess the information received, at step 403, in conjunction with theinformation stored in the database 10H. At step 404, the centralprocessing computer 10 can generate the charge-back information reportimmediately and/or at any time prior to the time limit specified by themerchant for receiving the report and/or prior to the shipping,transferring, and/or delivery, date and/or time.

If the central processing computer 10 has sufficient information forgenerating the charge-back information report, the central processingcomputer 10 can generate the charge-back information report. If thecentral processing computer 10 does not have all of the information forgenerating the charge-back information report, the central processingcomputer 10 can generate the charge-back information report at any timeafter it receives the information, but prior to the elapsing of themerchant-defined time limit or time period.

In any of the embodiments described herein, the central processingcomputer 10 can be programmed to check the information stored in thedatabase 10H, at specific and/or various time intervals, in order todetermine if the needed information has been provided and/or has beenmade available for processing and generating the charge-back informationreport information.

The central processing computer 10 can generate the charge-backinformation report upon getting the needed information. If the neededinformation is not available prior to the elapsing of the time limit ortime period, the central processing computer 10 can generate acharge-back information report containing any available information andprovide information regarding which information is missing or is notavailable.

The charge-back information report can contain any of theherein-described information which is stored in the database 10H. Thecharge-back information report can, for example, contain informationregarding the number and frequency of charge-backs which have occurredon the respective credit card account or charge card account, thereasons for the charge-back action, allegations made by the accountholder or account owner, dispute allegations made by the account holderor account owner, allegations of fraudulent or unauthorized accountactivity made by the account holder or account owner, the basis for anyof the above-described allegations, allegations or responses made by themerchants, vendors, or providers, involved in the transactions inquestion, transactions amounts involved, probability or statisticalinformation regarding whether the account holder or account owner can bea charge-back risk in the present transaction, and/or any otherinformation regarding charge-back(s) which have occurred on therespective account, which can or which may be useful to and/or ofinterest to a merchant, vendor, or provider, in assessing whether or notthe present transaction may present a charge-back risk.

The charge-back information report can also contain unpaid billinformation and/or history, loan repayment information and/or history,mortgage repayment information and/or history, loan delinquencyinformation and/or history, loan default information and/or history,repossession information and/or history, foreclosure information and/orhistory, credit score information and/or history, credit ratinginformation and/or history, changes in credit score or credit ratinginformation and/or history, loans originated information and/or history,loans satisfied and/or paid off information and/or history, creditaccount or credit card and/or charge account or charge card bills paidand/or payments made information and/or history, minimum balance paymentinformation and/or history, bill paid in full payment information and/orhistory, time to pay in full a balance or a loan information and/orhistory, credit account, credit card account, charge account, or chargecard account, credit limit information and/or history, credit account,credit card account, charge account, or charge card account, creditinterest and/or interest changes information and/or history, charge-backinformation and/or history for or involving any number of accounts,stopping of payment information and/or history involving any number ofaccounts, non-payment due to insufficient funds and/or checks bouncedinformation and/or history involving any number of accounts, loanapplication information and/or history, credit account or credit cardaccount application information and/or history, charge account or chargecard account application information and/or history, debit account ordebit card account application information and/or history, orco-applicant, co-party, or co-signer, information or history for,regarding, or involving, a loan, credit account, credit card account,charge account, charge card account, debit account, or debit cardaccount, for, involving, or associated with, the individual involved inthe transaction or the account holder or account owner of the accountinvolved in the transaction.

The charge-back information report can also contain any one or more ofinformation regarding a criminal record, including, but not limited to,information regarding a traffic infraction(s), violation(s),misdemeanor(s), or felony or felonies, conviction(s), guilty plea(s),plea bargain(s), arrest warrant(s) issued and/or arrest warrant(s)outstanding, of, for, regarding, or involving, the individual involvedin the transaction or the account holder or account owner of the accountinvolved in the transaction. The charge-back information report can alsocontain information regarding a judgment(s) issued against or involving,a judgment(s) satisfied involving, or an unsatisfied judgment(s)involving, an individual, for, of, associated with, or regarding, theindividual involved in the transaction or the account holder or accountowner of the account involved in the transaction.

The charge-back information report can also contain informationregarding information which is missing and/or not available at the timeof report generation.

In the case when the apparatus 100 is utilized to provide stopping ofpayment information or information regarding non-payment(s) due toinsufficient funds, such as in the case of check payments, debitpayments, electronic money payments, and/or other payments, the centralprocessing computer 10 will, at step 404, process the informationregarding the respective transaction and information regarding therespective account in conjunction with the information stored in thedatabase 10H and generate a respective stopping of payment informationreport or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report.

The respective stopping of payment(s) report or non-payment(s) due toinsufficient funds information report can contain any of theherein-described information which is stored in the database 10H. Therespective stopping of payment(s) information report or non-payment(s)due to insufficient funds information report can, for example, containinformation regarding the number and frequency of respective stopping ofpayment(s) or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds which haveoccurred on the respective account, the reasons for the respectivestopping of payment(s) or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds,allegations made by the account holder or account owner, disputeallegations made by the account holder or account owner, allegations offraudulent or unauthorized account activity made by the account holderor account owner, the basis for any of the above-described allegations,allegations or responses made by the merchants, vendors, or providers,involved in the transactions in question, transactions amounts involved,probability or statistical information regarding whether the accountholder or account owner can be a respective stopping of payment(s) riskor non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds risk in the presenttransaction, and/or any other information regarding respective stoppingof payment(s) or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds which haveoccurred on the respective account, which can or which may be useful toand/or of interest to a merchant, vendor, or provider, in assessingwhether or not the present transaction may present a respective stoppingof payment(s) risk or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds risk.

The respective stopping of payment(s) information report ornon-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report can alsocontain unpaid bill information and/or history, loan repaymentinformation and/or history, mortgage repayment information and/orhistory, loan delinquency information and/or history, loan defaultinformation and/or history, repossession information and/or history,foreclosure information and/or history, credit score information and/orhistory, credit rating information and/or history, changes in creditscore or credit rating information and/or history, loans originatedinformation and/or history, loans satisfied and/or paid off informationand/or history, credit account or credit card and/or charge account orcharge card bills paid and/or payments made information and/or history,minimum balance payment information and/or history, bill paid in fullpayment information and/or history, time to pay in full a balance or aloan information and/or history, credit account, credit card account,charge account, or charge card account, credit limit information and/orhistory, credit account, credit card account, charge account, or chargecard account, credit interest and/or interest changes information and/orhistory, charge-back information and/or history for or involving anynumber of accounts, stopping of payment information and/or historyinvolving any number of accounts, non-payment due to insufficient fundsand/or checks bounced information and/or history involving any number ofaccounts, loan application information and/or history, credit account orcredit card account application information and/or history, chargeaccount or charge card account application information and/or history,debit account or debit card account application information and/orhistory, or co-applicant, co-party, or co-signer, information or historyfor, regarding, or involving, a loan, credit account, credit cardaccount, charge account, charge card account, debit account, or debitcard account, for, involving, or associated with, the individualinvolved in the transaction or the account holder or account owner ofthe account involved in the transaction.

The respective stopping of payment(s) information report ornon-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report can alsocontain any one or more of information regarding a criminal record,including, but not limited to, information regarding a trafficinfraction(s), violation(s), misdemeanor(s), or felony or felonies,conviction(s), guilty plea(s), plea bargain(s), arrest warrant(s) issuedand/or arrest warrant(s) outstanding, of, for, regarding, or involving,the individual involved in the transaction or the account holder oraccount owner of the account involved in the transaction. The respectivestopping of payment(s) information report or non-payment(s) due toinsufficient funds information report can also contain informationregarding a judgment(s) issued against or involving, a judgment(s)satisfied involving, or an unsatisfied judgment(s) involving, anindividual, for, of, associated with, or regarding, the individualinvolved in the transaction or the account holder or account owner ofthe account involved in the transaction.

The respective stopping of payment(s) information report ornon-payment(s) due to insufficient information funds information reportcan also contain information regarding information which is missingand/or not available at the time of report generation.

In this regard, the apparatus 100 and method of the present inventioncan provide a wide variety of information regarding an individualinvolved in a transaction, to a respective merchant, vendor, orprovider, of a good, product, or service.

At step 405, the central processing computer 10 can transmit thecharge-back information report (or the respective stopping of paymentinformation report or non-payment(s) due to insufficient fundsinformation report, if applicable), to the merchant computer 20. Thecharge-back information report (or the respective stopping of paymentinformation report or non-payment(s) due to insufficient fundsinformation report, if applicable) can also be transmitted to themerchant or to the merchant computer 20 as any one or more of an e-mailmessage, an instant messaging message, a short message, a beepermessage, a pager message, a telephone message, a recorded voice message,and/or any other electronic message or electronic transmission.

At step 406, the merchant computer 10 can receive the charge-backinformation report (or the respective stopping of payment informationreport or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report,if applicable).

At step 407, the information provided and/or contained in thecharge-back information report (or the respective stopping of paymentinformation report or non-payment(s) due to insufficient fundsinformation report, if applicable) can be displayed to the merchant orthe merchant's employee or agent, can be output or printed out, and/orcan otherwise be provided to the merchant or the merchant's employee oragent.

At step 408, the merchant or the merchant's employee or agent can reviewthe information contained in the charge-back information report (or therespective stopping of payment information report or non-payment(s) dueto insufficient funds information report, if applicable) and determinewhether or not to proceed to engage in the transaction, to proceed toprocess the transaction, to proceed to consummate the transaction, or tocancel the transaction. In this manner, for example, a merchant can beapprised of past credit card or charge card disputes, denials,fraudulent use allegations, charge-back impositions, and/orcyber-shoplifting activity, which occurred on an account, which may beidentified in the respective charge-back information report, or anyother respective information which may be contained in the respectivestopping of payment information report or non-payment(s) due toinsufficient funds information report.

The merchant can then utilize the report information in order todetermine either not to proceed with the transaction, to cancel thetransaction or order, to request additional information, to requestinformation to confirm and/or verify the transaction and the accountholder's or the account owner's authority to enter into the transaction,to request additional assurances from the account holder or accountowner, to secure the account holder's or the account owner's agreementnot to dispute a charge or payment, to secure the account holder's orthe account owner's agreement not to stop payment for a charge orpayment, to secure the account holder's or the account owner's guaranteethat sufficient funds exist to cover a payment, to secure the accountholder's or the account owner's alternate agreement to guarantee paymentfor a charge, to secure a release of liability or claim from the accountholder or account owner regarding the transaction, and/or the merchantcan take any other action in order to protect its interests, prior toshipping, transferring, or delivering, the respective goods, products,and/or services, and/or otherwise fulfill the order or merchant'sobligations relating to the transaction.

Thereafter, the operation of the apparatus 100 will cease at step 409.

In another preferred embodiment, the apparatus and method of the presentinvention can be utilized in conjunction with, and/or along with, atransaction authorization process.

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate another preferred embodiment method forutilizing the apparatus 100 of the present invention, in flow diagramform. In the embodiment of FIGS. 5A and 5B, the apparatus 100 of thepresent invention can be utilized in order to provide information to amerchant, vendor, or provider, regarding a charge-back(s), a stopping ofpayment(s), and/or a non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds, whichhave occurred on, in conjunction with, and/or relating to, any of theherein-described accounts, in conjunction with, and/or in connectionwith a transaction authorization process.

The embodiment of FIGS. 5A and 5B can be utilized to provide informationregarding charge-backs which have occurred on, in conjunction with,and/or relating to, credit card accounts, credit accounts, charge cardaccounts, charge accounts, debit card accounts, debit accounts, checkingaccounts, bank accounts, automated teller machine accounts, and/or otheraccounts.

The embodiment of FIGS. 5A and 5B can also be utilized in order toprovide information regarding stopping of payments which have occurredon, in conjunction with, and/or relating to, credit card accounts,credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debit cardaccounts, debit accounts, checking accounts, bank accounts, automatedteller machine accounts, and/or other accounts.

The embodiment of FIGS. 5A and 5B can also be utilized in order toprovide information regarding non-payment due to insufficient fundswhich have occurred on, in conjunction with, and/or relating to, creditcard accounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts,debit card accounts, debit accounts, checking accounts, bank accounts,automated teller machine accounts, and/or other accounts.

The embodiment of FIGS. 5A and 5B will be described as being utilized inorder to provide information regarding charge-backs which have occurredon, in conjunction with, and/or relating to a credit card account or acharge card account. The embodiment of FIGS. 5A and 5B can also beutilized in a same, in a similar, and/or in an analogous manner, inorder to provide any one or more of information regarding charge-backs,information regarding stopping of payments, and/or information regardingnon-payment due to insufficient funds, which have occurred on, inconjunction with, and/or relating to any one or more of credit cardaccounts, credit accounts, charge card accounts, charge accounts, debitcard accounts, debit accounts, checking accounts, bank accounts,automated teller machine accounts, and/or other accounts.

With reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, the operation of the apparatus 100commences at step 500. At step 501, a merchant who is engaged in atransaction with an individual, who is utilizing a credit card accountor a charge card account to effect payment for a transaction involvingany type or kind of goods, products, and/or services, can access thecentral processing computer 10 via a merchant computer 20.

At step 501, the merchant can access the central processing computer 10and enter information regarding the transaction and/or informationregarding the credit card account or the charge card account which theindividual has presented for payment, into the merchant computer 20associated with the merchant. The information can, for example, beentered into a transaction authorization device which can be utilized asa merchant computer 20. At step 502, the information entered into themerchant computer 20, at step 501, is transmitted to the centralprocessing computer 10.

At step 503, the central processing computer 10 will receive theinformation. At step 504, the central processing computer 10 willprocess the information received, at step 503, and determine if thetransaction is authorized. At step 504, the central processing computer10 will generate a transaction authorization report and transmit same tothe merchant computer 20 for review by the merchant. The transactionauthorization report can also be transmitted to the merchant or to themerchant computer 20 as any one or more of an e-mail message, an instantmessaging message, a short message, a beeper message, a pager message, atelephone message, a recorded voice message, and/or any other electronicmessage or electronic transmission.

The transaction authorization report can contain information regardingwhether the transaction is authorized or that the transaction is notauthorized.

At step 505, the central processing computer 10 will determine whetherthe transaction is authorized. If, at step 505, the central processingcomputer 10 determines that the transaction is authorized, the operationof the central processing computer 10 will proceed to step 506. If,however, the central processing computer 10 determines, at step 505,that the transaction is not authorized, the operation of the centralprocessing computer 10 will cease at step 512.

At step 506, the central processing computer 10 will process theinformation received, at step 503, in conjunction with the informationstored in the database 10H. At step 506, the central processing computer10 will generate a charge-back information report.

The charge-back information report can contain any of theherein-described information which is stored in the database 10H. Thecharge-back information report can, for example, contain informationregarding the number and frequency of charge-backs which have occurredon the respective credit card account or charge card account, thereasons for the charge-back action, allegations made by the accountholder or account owner, dispute allegations made by the account holderor account owner, allegations of fraudulent or unauthorized accountactivity made by the account holder or account owner, the basis for anyof the above-described allegations, allegations or responses made by themerchants, vendors, or providers, involved in the transactions inquestion, transactions amounts involved, probability or statisticalinformation regarding whether the account holder or account owner can bea charge-back risk in the present transaction, and/or any otherinformation regarding charge-back(s) which have occurred on therespective account, which can or which may be useful to and/or ofinterest to a merchant, vendor, or provider, in assessing whether or notthe present transaction may present a charge-back risk.

The charge-back information report, in addition to containing any of theinformation described herein as being included in a charge-backinformation report in any of the embodiments described herein or any ofthe information described herein as being stored in the database 10H,can also contain unpaid bill information and/or history, loan repaymentinformation and/or history, mortgage repayment information and/orhistory, loan delinquency information and/or history, loan defaultinformation and/or history, repossession information and/or history,foreclosure information and/or history, credit score information and/orhistory, credit rating information and/or history, changes in creditscore or credit rating information and/or history, loans originatedinformation and/or history, loans satisfied and/or paid off informationand/or history, credit account or credit card and/or charge account orcharge card bills paid and/or payments made information and/or history,minimum balance payment information and/or history, bill paid in fullpayment information and/or history, time to pay in full a balance or aloan information and/or history, credit account, credit card account,charge account, or charge card account, credit limit information and/orhistory, credit account, credit card account, charge account, or chargecard account, credit interest and/or interest changes information and/orhistory, charge-back information and/or history for or involving anynumber of accounts, stopping of payment information and/or historyinvolving any number of accounts, non-payment due to insufficient fundsand/or checks bounced information and/or history involving any number ofaccounts, loan application information and/or history, credit account orcredit card account application information and/or history, chargeaccount or charge card account application information and/or history,debit account or debit card account application information and/orhistory, or co-applicant, co-party, or co-signer, information or historyfor, regarding, or involving, a loan, credit account, credit cardaccount, charge account, charge card account, debit account, or debitcard account, for, involving, or associated with, the individualinvolved in the transaction or the account holder or account owner ofthe account involved in the transaction.

The charge-back information report can also contain any one or more ofinformation regarding a criminal record, including, but not limited to,information regarding a traffic infraction(s), violation(s),misdemeanor(s), or felony or felonies, conviction(s), guilty plea(s),plea bargain(s), arrest warrant(s) issued and/or arrest warrant(s)outstanding, of, for, regarding, or involving, the individual involvedin the transaction or the account holder or account owner of the accountinvolved in the transaction. The charge-back information report can alsocontain information regarding a judgment(s) issued against or involving,a judgment(s) satisfied involving, or an unsatisfied judgment(s)involving, an individual, for, of, associated with, or regarding, theindividual involved in the transaction or the account holder or accountowner of the account involved in the transaction.

The charge-back information report can also contain informationregarding information which is missing and/or not available at the timeof report generation.

In the case when the apparatus 100 is utilized to provide stopping ofpayment information or information regarding non-payment(s) due toinsufficient funds, such as in the case of check payments, debitpayments, electronic money payments, and/or other payments, the centralprocessing computer 10 will, at step 506, process the informationregarding the respective transaction and information regarding therespective account in conjunction with the information stored in thedatabase 10H and generate a respective stopping of payment informationreport or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report.

The respective stopping of payment(s) report or non-payment(s) due toinsufficient funds information report can contain any of theherein-described information which is stored in the database 10H. Therespective stopping of payment(s) report or non-payment(s) due toinsufficient funds information report can, for example, containinformation regarding the number and frequency of respective stopping ofpayment(s) or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds which haveoccurred on the respective account, the reasons for the respectivestopping of payment(s) or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds,allegations made by the account holder or account owner, disputeallegations made by the account holder or account owner, allegations offraudulent or unauthorized account activity made by the account holderor account owner, the basis for any of the above-described allegations,allegations or responses made by the merchants, vendors, or providers,involved in the transactions in question, transactions amounts involved,probability or statistical information regarding whether the accountholder or account owner can be a respective stopping of payment(s) riskor non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds risk in the presenttransaction, and/or any other information regarding respective stoppingof payment(s) or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds which haveoccurred on the respective account, which can or which may be useful toand/or of interest to a merchant, vendor, or provider, in assessingwhether or not the present transaction may present a respective stoppingof payment(s) risk or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds risk.

The respective stopping of payment(s) information report ornon-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report, in additionto containing any of the information described herein as being includedin a respective stopping of payment(s) information report ornon-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report in any ofthe embodiments described herein or any of the information describedherein as being stored in the database 10H, can also contain unpaid billinformation and/or history, loan repayment information and/or history,mortgage repayment information and/or history, loan delinquencyinformation and/or history, loan default information and/or history,repossession information and/or history, foreclosure information and/orhistory, credit score information and/or history, credit ratinginformation and/or history, changes in credit score or credit ratinginformation and/or history, loans originated information and/or history,loans satisfied and/or paid off information and/or history, creditaccount or credit card and/or charge account or charge card bills paidand/or payments made information and/or history, minimum balance paymentinformation and/or history, bill paid in full payment information and/orhistory, time to pay in full a balance or a loan information and/orhistory, credit account, credit card account, charge account, or chargecard account, credit limit information and/or history, credit account,credit card account, charge account, or charge card account, creditinterest and/or interest changes information and/or history, charge-backinformation and/or history for or involving any number of accounts,stopping of payment information and/or history involving any number ofaccounts, non-payment due to insufficient funds and/or checks bouncedinformation and/or history involving any number of accounts, loanapplication information and/or history, credit account or credit cardaccount application information and/or history, charge account or chargecard account application information and/or history, debit account ordebit card account application information and/or history, orco-applicant, co-party, or co-signer, information or history for,regarding, or involving, a loan, credit account, credit card account,charge account, charge card account, debit account, or debit cardaccount, for, involving, or associated with, the individual involved inthe transaction or the account holder or account owner of the accountinvolved in the transaction.

The respective stopping of payment(s) information report ornon-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report can alsocontain any one or more of information regarding a criminal record,including, but not limited to, information regarding a trafficinfraction(s), violation(s), misdemeanor(s), or felony or felonies,conviction(s), guilty plea(s), plea bargain(s), arrest warrant(s) issuedand/or arrest warrant(s) outstanding, of, for, regarding, or involving,the individual involved in the transaction or the account holder oraccount owner of the account involved in the transaction. The respectivestopping of payment(s) information report or non-payment(s) due toinsufficient funds information report can also contain informationregarding a judgment(s) issued against or involving, a judgment(s)satisfied involving, or an unsatisfied judgment(s) involving, anindividual, for, of, associated with, or regarding, the individualinvolved in the transaction or the account holder or account owner ofthe account involved in the transaction.

The respective stopping of payment(s) information report ornon-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report can alsocontain information regarding information which is missing and/or notavailable at the time of report generation.

In this regard, the apparatus 100 and method of the present inventioncan provide a wide variety of information regarding an individualinvolved in a transaction, to a respective merchant, vendor, orprovider, of a good, product, or service.

At step 507, the central processing computer 10 can transmit thecharge-back information report (or the respective stopping of paymentinformation report or non-payment(s) due to insufficient fundsinformation report, if applicable), to the merchant computer 20.

The charge-back information report (or the respective stopping ofpayment information report or non-payment(s) due to insufficient fundsinformation report, if applicable) can also be transmitted to themerchant or to the merchant computer 20 as any one or more of an e-mailmessage, an instant messaging message, a short message, a beepermessage, a pager message, a telephone message, a recorded voice message,and/or any other electronic message or electronic transmission.

At step 508, the merchant computer 10 can receive the charge-backinformation report (or the respective stopping of payment informationreport or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds information report,if applicable).

At step 509, the information provided and/or contained in thecharge-back information report (or the respective stopping of paymentinformation report or non-payment(s) due to insufficient fundsinformation report, if applicable) can be displayed to the merchant orthe merchant's employee or agent, can be output or printed out, and/orcan otherwise be provided to the merchant or the merchant's employee oragent.

At step 510, the merchant or the merchant's employee or agent can reviewthe information contained in the charge-back information report (or therespective stopping of payment information report or non-payment(s) dueto insufficient funds information report, if applicable) and determinewhether or not to proceed to engage in the transaction, to proceed toprocess the transaction, to proceed to consummate the transaction, or tocancel the transaction. In this manner, for example, a merchant can beapprised of past credit card or charge card disputes, denials,fraudulent use allegations, charge-back impositions, and/orcyber-shoplifting activity, which occurred on an account, which may beidentified in the respective charge-back information report, or anyother respective information which may be contained in the respectivestopping of payment information report or non-payment(s) due toinsufficient funds information report.

The merchant can then utilize the report information in order todetermine either not to proceed with the transaction, to cancel thetransaction or order, to request additional information, to requestinformation to confirm and/or verify the transaction and the accountholder's or the account owner's authority to enter into the transaction,to request additional assurances from the account holder or accountowner, to secure the account holder's or the account owner's agreementnot to dispute a charge or payment, to secure the account holder's orthe account owner's agreement not to stop payment for a charge orpayment, to secure the account holder's or the account owner's guaranteethat sufficient funds exist to cover a payment, to secure the accountholder's or the account owner's alternate agreement to guarantee paymentfor a charge, to secure a release of liability or claim from the accountholder or account owner regarding the transaction, and/or the merchantcan take any other action in order to protect its interests.

Thereafter, the operation of the apparatus 100 will cease at step 511.

In another preferred embodiment, the apparatus 100 of FIGS. 5A and 5B,can be utilized in order to provide respective charge-back information,stopping of payment information, and/or non-payment due to insufficientfunds information, to a merchant, vendor, or provider, at any time priorto the merchant's, the vendor's, or the provider's, delivery, transfer,or shipment, of the respective goods, products, and/or services, to anindividual, entity, account holder, or account owner. In this regard,for example, the apparatus 100 can process and provide information tothe merchant prior to the merchant's delivery, transfer, or shipment, ofa good or product, to the account holder, thereby allowing the merchantto ascertain, evaluate, and/or determine, the charge-back risks, thestopping of payment risks, and/or the non-payment due to insufficientfunds risks, which exist, or which may exist, in a transaction, prior tothe merchant delivering, transferring, and/or shipping, the good orproduct to the counterparty or account holder, and/or otherwiserelinquishing possession of, or title to, the good or product. In thismanner, the apparatus 100 of FIGS. 5A and 5B can be utilized in order toallow a merchant, vendor, or provider, to reduce charge-back ornon-payment risks and/or to otherwise protect its interests.

In another preferred embodiment, the apparatus 100 and method of thepresent invention can be utilized in conjunction with a transactionprocess and/or a transaction authorization process in order to provideinformation regarding an individual involved in a transaction to amerchant, vendor, or provider.

FIG. 6 illustrates a preferred embodiment method for utilizing theapparatus 100 of the present invention, in flow diagram form. In theembodiment of FIG. 6, the apparatus 100 of the present invention can beutilized in order to provide information regarding an individualinvolved in a transaction to a merchant, vendor, or provider.

The embodiment of FIG. 6 will be described as being utilized in order toprovide information regarding an individual involved in a transaction.The embodiment of FIG. 6 can be utilized in a same, in a similar, and/orin an analogous manner, in order to provide any one or more ofinformation described herein about an individual involved in atransaction.

With reference to FIG. 6, the operation of the apparatus 100 commencesat step 600. At step 601, a merchant who is engaged in a transactionwith an individual can access the central processing computer 10 via amerchant computer 20.

At step 601, the merchant can access the central processing computer 10and enter information regarding the individual, the transaction, orinformation regarding the credit card account or the charge card accountwhich the individual has presented for payment, into the merchantcomputer 20 associated with the merchant. The information can, forexample, be entered into a transaction authorization device which can beutilized as a merchant computer 20. At step 602, the information enteredinto the merchant computer 20, at step 601, is transmitted to thecentral processing computer 10.

At step 603, the central processing computer 10 will receive theinformation. At step 604, the central processing computer 10 willprocess the information received, at step 603, in conjunction with theinformation stored in the database 10H. At step 604, the centralprocessing computer 10 will generate an individual information report.

The individual information report can contain any of theherein-described information which is stored in the database 10H. Theindividual information report can, for example, contain informationregarding the number and frequency of charge-backs which have occurredon a credit card account or charge card account of the individual, thereasons for the charge-back action, allegations made by the individual,dispute allegations made by the individual, allegations of fraudulent orunauthorized account activity made by individual, the basis for any ofthe above-described allegations, allegations or responses made by themerchants, vendors, or providers, involved in the transactions inquestion, transactions amounts involved, probability or statisticalinformation regarding whether the individual can be a charge-back riskin the present transaction, and/or any other information regardingcharge-back(s) which have occurred on the respective account orinvolving the individual, which can or which may be useful to and/or maybe of interest to a merchant, vendor, or provider, in assessing whetheror not the individual may present a charge-back risk.

The individual information report can also contain unpaid billinformation and/or history, loan repayment information and/or history,mortgage repayment information and/or history, loan delinquencyinformation and/or history, loan default information and/or history,repossession information and/or history, foreclosure information and/orhistory, credit score information and/or history, credit ratinginformation and/or history, changes in credit score or credit ratinginformation and/or history, loans originated information and/or history,loans satisfied and/or paid off information and/or history, creditaccount or credit card and/or charge account or charge card bills paidand/or payments made information and/or history, minimum balance paymentinformation and/or history, bill paid in full payment information and/orhistory, time to pay in full a balance or a loan information and/orhistory, credit account, credit card account, charge account, or chargecard account, credit limit information and/or history, credit account,credit card account, charge account, or charge card account, creditinterest and/or interest changes information and/or history, charge-backinformation and/or history for or involving any number of accounts,stopping of payment information and/or history involving any number ofaccounts, non-payment due to insufficient funds and/or checks bouncedinformation and/or history involving any number of accounts, loanapplication information and/or history, credit account or credit cardaccount application information and/or history, charge account or chargecard account application information and/or history, debit account ordebit card account application information and/or history, orco-applicant, co-party, or co-signer, information or history for,regarding, or involving, a loan, credit account, credit card account,charge account, charge card account, debit account, or debit cardaccount, for, involving, or associated with, the individual.

The individual information report can also contain any one or more ofinformation regarding a criminal record, including, but not limited to,information regarding a traffic infraction(s), violation(s),misdemeanor(s), or felony or felonies, conviction(s), guilty plea(s),plea bargain(s), arrest warrant(s) issued and/or arrest warrant(s)outstanding, of, for, regarding, or involving, the individual. Theindividual information report can also contain information regarding ajudgment(s) issued against or involving, a judgment(s) satisfiedinvolving, or an unsatisfied judgment(s) involving, an individual, for,of, associated with, or regarding, the individual.

The individual information report can also contain information regardinginformation which is missing and/or not available at the time of reportgeneration.

The individual information report can also contain any of theherein-described information which is stored in the database 10H. Theindividual information report can, for example, also contain informationregarding the number and frequency of respective stopping of payment(s)or non-payment(s) due to insufficient funds which have occurred on thean account, the reasons for the respective stopping of payment(s) ornon-payment(s) due to insufficient funds, allegations made by theindividual, dispute allegations made by the individual, allegations offraudulent or unauthorized account activity made by the individual, thebasis for any of the above-described allegations, allegations orresponses made by the merchants, vendors, or providers, involved in thetransactions in question, transactions amounts involved, probability orstatistical information regarding whether the account holder or accountowner can be a respective stopping of payment(s) risk or non-payment(s)due to insufficient funds risk in the present transaction, and/or anyother information regarding respective stopping of payment(s) ornon-payment(s) due to insufficient funds which have occurred on therespective account, which can or which may be useful to and/or ofinterest to a merchant, vendor, or provider, in assessing whether or notthe individual may present a respective stopping of payment(s) risk ornon-payment(s) due to insufficient funds risk.

The individual information can also contain information regardinginformation which is missing and/or not available at the time of reportgeneration.

In this regard, the apparatus 100 and method of the present inventioncan provide a wide variety of information regarding an individualinvolved in a transaction to a respective merchant, vendor, or provider,of a good, product, or service.

At step 605, the central processing computer 10 can transmit theindividual information report to the merchant computer 20. Theindividual information report can also be transmitted to the merchant orto the merchant computer 20 as any one or more of an e-mail message, aninstant messaging message, a short message, a beeper message, a pagermessage, a telephone message, a recorded voice message, and/or any otherelectronic message or electronic transmission.

At step 606, the merchant computer 10 can receive the individualinformation report.

At step 607, the information provided and/or contained in the individualinformation report can be displayed to the merchant or the merchant'semployee or agent, can be output or printed out, and/or can otherwise beprovided to the merchant or the merchant's employee or agent.

At step 608, the merchant or the merchant's employee or agent can reviewthe information contained in the individual information report anddetermine whether or not to proceed to engage in the transaction withthe individual, to proceed to process the transaction, to proceed toconsummate the transaction, or to cancel the transaction. In thismanner, for example, a merchant can be apprised of any of theherein-described information regarding the individual engaged in thetransaction.

The merchant can then utilize the report information in order todetermine either not to proceed with the transaction, to cancel thetransaction or order, to request additional information, to requestinformation to confirm and/or verify the transaction and theindividual's authority to enter into the transaction, to requestadditional assurances from the individual, to secure the individual'sagreement not to dispute a charge or payment, to secure the individual'sagreement not to stop payment for a charge or payment, to secureindividual's guarantee that sufficient funds exist to cover a payment,to secure the individuals alternate agreement to guarantee payment for acharge, to secure a release of liability or claim from the individualregarding the transaction, and/or the merchant can take any other actionin order to protect its interests.

Thereafter, the operation of the apparatus 100 will cease at step 609.

In this regard, the apparatus 100 and method of the present inventioncan also be utilized to provide information regarding an individual,currently engaging in a transaction or otherwise, to a merchant, vendor,or provider.

In another preferred embodiment, as well as in any of the embodimentsdescribed herein, intelligent agents, software agents, mobile agents,and/or related technologies, can be utilized in conjunction with thepresent invention. The respective intelligent agent(s), softwareagent(s), mobile agent(s), (hereinafter referred to collectively as“intelligent agent” or “intelligent agents”) can be programmed and/ordesigned to act on behalf of any of the respective merchants, vendors,or providers, described herein as utilizing the apparatus 100 of thepresent invention, so as to act on behalf of the respective merchants,vendors, or providers, as well as to perform any of processing functionsand/or other functions described herein.

The intelligent agent can act on behalf of the respective merchants,vendors, or providers, in various activities which are described asbeing performed herein and/or which may be incidental and/or relatedthereto. Therefore, the present invention also provides an agent-basedapparatus and method for providing transaction history information,account history information, and/or charge-back information, orindividual information.

Applicant hereby incorporates by reference herein the subject matter ofthe Agent Sourcebook, A Complete Guide to Desktop, Internet and IntranetAgents, by Alper Caglayan and Colin Harrison, Wiley Computer Publishing,1997. Applicant also incorporates by reference herein the subject matterof Cool Intelligent Agents For The Net, by Leslie L. Lesnick with RalphE. Moore, IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. 1997.

The apparatus of the present invention, in any and/or all of theembodiments described herein, can also be programmed to beself-activating and/or activated automatically.

While the present invention has been described and illustrated invarious preferred and alternate embodiments, such descriptions aremerely illustrative of the present invention and are not to be construedto be limitations thereof. In this regard, the present inventionencompasses all modifications, variations, and/or alternate embodiments,with the scope of the present invention being limited only by the claimswhich follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:processing, with a processing device or with a computer, informationregarding an individual involved in a transaction prior to a completion,a consummation, or a cancellation, of the transaction; generating, withthe processing device or with the computer, a report or a message inresponse to the processing of the information regarding the individual,wherein the report or the message contains information regarding acharge-back regarding a previous transaction involving the individual;and transmitting, with or from a transmitter, the processing device, orthe computer, the report or the message to a communication deviceassociated with a merchant, a vendor, or a provider, of a good, aproduct, or a service.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,further comprising: processing information regarding a secondtransaction involving the individual or a second transaction involving asecond individual; generating a second report or a second message,wherein the second report or the second message contains informationregarding a stopping of a payment regarding or involving the individualor regarding or involving the second individual, or informationregarding a non-payment due to insufficient funds regarding or involvingthe individual or regarding or involving the second individual; andtransmitting the second report or the second message to thecommunication device or to a second communication device.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the communication deviceis a transaction authorization device.
 4. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein the communication device is a wirelessdevice, a wireless telephone, or a personal digital assistant.
 5. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the report or themessage is transmitted to the communication device pursuant to, in, orduring, a transaction authorization process.
 6. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, further comprising: determining whether thetransaction is authorized or not authorized; generating a second reportor a second message containing information regarding whether thetransaction is authorized or not authorized; and transmitting the secondreport or the second message to the communication device.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the transaction is anon-line transaction, and further wherein the information regarding thetransaction, or the report or the message, is transmitted via, on, orover, the Internet or the World Wide Web.
 8. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein the transaction is a face-to-facetransaction.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein thereport or the message contains unpaid bill information or history, loanrepayment information or history, mortgage repayment information orhistory, loan delinquency information or history, loan defaultinformation or history, repossession information or history, foreclosureinformation or history, credit score information or history, creditrating information or history, changes in credit score or credit ratinginformation or history, loans originated information or history, loanssatisfied or paid off information or history, credit account or creditcard or charge account or charge card bills paid or payments madeinformation or history, minimum balance payment information or history,bill paid in full payment information or history, time to pay in full abalance or a loan information or history, credit account, credit card,charge account, or charge card, credit limit information or history,credit account, credit card, charge account, or charge card, creditinterest or interest changes information or history, charge-backinformation or history for or involving any number of accounts, stoppingof payment information or history involving any number of accounts,non-payment due to insufficient funds or checks bounced information orhistory involving any number of accounts, loan application informationor history, credit account or credit card account applicationinformation or history, charge account or charge card accountapplication information or history, debit account or debit card accountapplication information or history, or co-applicant, co-party, orco-signer, information or history for, regarding, or involving, a loan,credit account, credit card account, charge account, charge cardaccount, debit account, or debit card account, for, involving, orassociated with, the individual.
 10. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, wherein the report or the message contains informationregarding a criminal record, a traffic infraction, violation,misdemeanor, or felony, conviction, a guilty plea, a plea bargain, anarrest warrant issued or an arrest warrant outstanding, of, for,regarding, or involving, the individual, or the report or the messagecontains information regarding a judgment issued against or involving, ajudgment satisfied involving, or an unsatisfied judgment involving, theindividual.
 11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein theinformation regarding the individual includes information regarding atime period or a time limit relating to, or a time of, a shipment, atransfer, or a delivery, of a good, a product, or a service, pursuant tothe transaction, and further wherein the report or the message istransmitted to the communication device prior to the shipment, thetransfer, or the delivery, of the good, the product, or the service. 12.The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the report or themessage is transmitted to the communication device prior to a shipment,a transfer, or a delivery, of a good, a product, or a service, or thereport or the message is transmitted to the communication device priorto a processing, a completion, a consummation, or a cancellation, of thetransaction.
 13. An apparatus, comprising: a processing device, whereinthe processing device processes information regarding an individualinvolved in a transaction, wherein the apparatus generates a report or amessage in response to the processing of the information regarding theindividual, wherein the report or the message contains informationregarding a previous transaction involving the individual; and atransmitter, wherein the transmitter transmits the report or the messageto a communication device associated with a merchant, a vendor, or aprovider, of a good, a product, or a service.
 14. The apparatus of claim13, wherein the communication device is a transaction authorizationdevice.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the apparatus determineswhether the transaction is authorized or not authorized, and furtherwherein the apparatus generates a second report or a second messagecontaining information regarding whether the transaction is authorizedor not authorized, and further wherein the apparatus transmits thesecond report or the second message to the communication device.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 13, wherein the report or the message is transmittedto the communication device pursuant to, in, or during, a transactionauthorization process.
 17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the reportor the message contains unpaid bill information or history, loanrepayment information or history, mortgage repayment information orhistory, loan delinquency information or history, loan defaultinformation or history, repossession information or history, foreclosureinformation or history, credit score information or history, creditrating information or history, changes in credit score or credit ratinginformation or history, loans originated information or history, loanssatisfied or paid off information or history, credit account or creditcard or charge account or charge card bills paid or payments madeinformation or history, minimum balance payment information or history,bill paid in full payment information or history, time to pay in full abalance or a loan information or history, credit account, credit card,charge account, or charge card, credit limit information or history,credit account, credit card, charge account, or charge card, creditinterest or interest changes information or history, charge-backinformation or history for or involving any number of accounts, stoppingof payment information or history involving any number of accounts,non-payment due to insufficient funds or checks bounced information orhistory involving any number of accounts, loan application informationor history, credit account or credit card account applicationinformation or history, charge account or charge card accountapplication information or history, debit account or debit card accountapplication information or history, or co-applicant, co-party, orco-signer, information or history for, regarding, or involving, a loan,credit account, credit card account, charge account, charge cardaccount, debit account, or debit card account, for, involving, orassociated with, the individual.
 18. The apparatus of claim 13, whereinthe report or the message contains information regarding a criminalrecord, a traffic infraction, violation, misdemeanor, or felony,conviction, a guilty plea, a plea bargain, an arrest warrant issued oran arrest warrant outstanding, of, for, regarding, or involving, theindividual, or the report or the message contains information regardinga judgment issued against or involving, a judgment satisfied involving,or an unsatisfied judgment involving, the individual.
 19. The apparatusof claim 13, wherein the apparatus processes information regarding asecond transaction involving the individual or a second transactioninvolving a second individual, and further wherein the apparatusgenerates a second report or a second message, wherein the second reportor the second message contains information regarding a stopping of apayment regarding or involving the individual or regarding or involvingthe second individual, or information regarding a non-payment due toinsufficient funds regarding or involving the individual or regarding orinvolving the second individual, and further wherein the apparatustransmits the second report or the second message to the communicationdevice or to a second communication device.
 20. A computer-implementedmethod, comprising: receiving, with a receiver, information regarding anindividual; processing, with a processing device or with a computer, theinformation regarding the individual; generating, with the processingdevice or with the computer, a report or a message in response to theprocessing of the information regarding the individual, wherein thereport or the message contains information regarding a previoustransaction involving the individual; and transmitting, with or from atransmitter, the processing device, or the computer, the report or themessage to a communication device associated with a merchant, a vendor,or a provider, of a good, a product, or a service.
 21. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 20, further comprising: determiningwhether a transaction involving the individual is authorized or notauthorized; generating a second report or a second message containinginformation regarding whether the transaction is authorized or notauthorized; and transmitting the second report or the second message tothe communication device.